20 Jun 2019

 North West District Council (NWDC) has adopted recommendations by a team that embarked on a bilateral exchange trip to Namibia targeting Windhoek and Zambezi Regional Council municipalities.

The objective of the trip was to learn best practices on handling issues of landfill management such as waste management segregation and waste reclamation from the landfill, market stall management and benchmark on a two-teacher classroom model.

The council wanted to learn how the stalls operated.

The recommendations were adopted after presentation of a detailed report by a member of the team, Councillor Kebadiretse Ntsogotlho of Khwai/Mababe, who noted that the municipalities were doing well in all areas.

In its recommendations, the team advocated for proper management, effective operation and maintenance of the landfill, stating that the council needed to purchase a rubble crusher, wood chipper and a bulldozer.

It also stated that provision should also be made for operators and training on operations of the identified plant.

The equipment would be used to clear the accumulated waste in the form of rubble, vegetation waste and PVC pipes, which could be crushed and landfilled.

Other recommendations were to install a closed circuit television (CCTV) at the landfill to enhance its supervision and management in general.

On the issue of two-teacher classroom, Mr Ntsogotlho revealed that it was similar to theirs, except that they had an administration block.

The recommendation was also for the council to adopt the reinforcement seal method to prevent bat infestations in classrooms.

On the market stall, the council was called to adopt the Soweto market model.

In their response, the councillors welcomed and adopted the report and called on management to implement the recommendations since they could make a difference in the district.

They were impressed to learn that Windhoek was the cleanest in Africa because of the good systems implemented to manage waste and believed that they could also apply them in Ngamiland, as waste management has been an challenge.

The council secretary, Mr Stephen Motlogelwa, appreciated the recommendations and indicated that in some areas such as landfill management and market stalls, something was being done by the council.

He stated they were a step ahead on the landfill management, as they had already started to recover the landfill. ENDs