Swakopmund: Erongo Governor Natalia |Goagoses has called for urgent action to decongest informal settlements following the shack fire that claimed the lives of two young girls in Swakopmund’s DRC informal settlement last week. The fire broke out shortly after midnight. A neighbour managed to rescue a seven-year-old girl after kicking open the door of the burning shack, but two younger children aged one and four were trapped inside and died.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the governor expressed deep sorrow over the incident during a visit to the family of the deceased, stressing that the continued loss of lives in shack fires was unacceptable. ‘This is the second time this year that this family’s shack has burned down and as leaders, we cannot keep planning endlessly and only respond after tragedies strike. One life lost is already too much, but two children from one mother is truly heartbreaking,’ the governor said.
|Goagoses added that leadership must unite to develop and implement a concrete programme to decongest unsafe and overcrowded informal settlements. Chief Regional Officer (CRO) of the Erongo Regional Council, Sam Ntelamo echoed the governor’s sentiments, assuring the family that the regional leadership and disaster structures are already working to mobilise support.
He explained that during the last Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Committee meeting, leaders resolved not to wait for scheduled meetings to make decisions in crisis situations, but to act immediately when emergencies arise. He further highlighted that the regional leadership is developing practical, short-term and long-term measures aimed at improving living conditions in informal settlements to reduce the risk of similar tragedies.
‘We have agreed to strengthen coordination between local authorities, emergency services and regional structures so that interventions can happen swiftly. This is not just about responding to disasters, it is about preventing them,’ Ntelamo added. The girls’ great-aunt, Ewaltine Isaak, called for increased awareness and responsibility among residents living in informal settlements. ‘Let us acknowledge that we are living in shacks and remember to blow out candles and switch off our pots,’ she cautioned.
Plans are underway to assist the family with their living arrangement and with the burial of the two children. The cause of the fire has not been determined yet.