Between a rock and a hard place

Lüderitz’ Sande residents forced to use mountain as toilet

Residents of Sande informal settlement at Lüderitz say the few communal toilets in their area have become unusable, leaving them with no choice but to use a nearby mountain as a toilet.

Loise Absalom, who owns a shebeen at the settlement, says she acquired her piece of land in 2022, but still has no access to a proper toilet.

“There were a few toilets we were sharing, but now they’ve been blocked with rocks and there is nothing,” she says.

Absalom wonders whether residents are being neglected because they lack money or formal employment.

During a recent visit to the settlement, The Namibian observed a dilapidated communal toilet.

‘UNDIGNIFIED’

Lüderitz Affirmative Repositioning chairperson Titus Petrus, who was present during the visit, inspected a toilet in a nearby former apartheid-era compound building used by residents.

He described its condition as a “bad situation” and called on the town council to intervene.
“These toilets are not looking nice; they are dirty.

The municipality must help the people; no one will use this toilet and come out healthy,” he said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that inadequate sanitation threatens public health and undermines human dignity.

“Life without a decent toilet is dirty, dangerous and undignified,” the WHO said in a 2021 statement marking World Toilet Day, adding that where communities lack safe toilets, the health of everyone is threatened.

The situation at Sande reflects a wider sanitation challenge in Namibia.

A 2024 report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, prepared with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), estimates that inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash) services cost the Namibian economy about N$3.8 billion annually.

The report estimates that between 43% and 50% of Namibia’s population practise open defecation, depending on the underlying data source.

It warned that insufficient investment in sanitation contributes to preventable illness, premature deaths and economic losses, while noting that national Wash expenditure declined from 0.8% of gross domestic product in 2017/18 to 0.5% in 2021/22.

A 2024 government and Unicef-supported study warned that inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene services impose substantial economic and social costs, including lost productivity, healthcare expenses and premature deaths.

The report found that Namibia’s sanitation sector remained underfunded compared with water services, warning that universal access to basic sanitation and hygiene would require substantial additional investment.

OIL, GAS EPICENTRE

Sanitation complaints at Lüderitz informal settlements have been documented for several years.

The town is the epicentre of Namibia’s new oil, gas and green hydrogen industries.

Previously, the town heavily relied on the fishing industry, which provided more than 80% of the employment and economic activity.

This, the government has promised, will change.

In August 2022, Namibian Sun reported that a parliamentary standing committee’s sanitation inspection report recorded 28 toilets provided to Area 7 in 2019. It also recorded 18 toilets at a settlement identified as Sand Hotel, only two of which were functioning.

The committee attributed the deterioration at Sand Hotel to poor care by both the community and the council, and reported that vandalised infrastructure had been replaced with temporary facilities.

In November 2024, Area 7 residents told Nampa that 200 public toilets had been built by the council more than 10 years earlier.

They alleged that only 80 remained operational and that these were in poor condition, forcing residents to relieve themselves in the open.

Further complaints were reported by The Namibian on 15 January 2026, when Area 7 residents said broken toilets were forcing people to relieve themselves behind surrounding rocks.

In that report, council spokesperson Elwin! Gaoseb says vandalism of toilet cistern components to obtain water had increased maintenance costs. He says the council’s water division had to disconnect water services to public toilets.

Those comments concerned earlier complaints at Area 7 and Amilema, rather than the conditions observed during this visit to Sande.

Residents interviewed during The Namibian’s Sande visit also raised concerns about access to land, employment and information about opportunities at the town, including in the emerging oil and gas and green hydrogen sectors.

The sanitation challenges persist as Lüderitz positions itself as a centre for Namibia’s emerging oil, gas and green hydrogen industries.

ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY

Paul Herero, a Sande resident and vice chairperson of the Smallscale Fishery Association, says Lüderitz has benefited from developments, particularly in fishing, but questions whether residents are receiving a fair share of opportunities.

He says access to opportunities has improved compared to eight or 10 years ago, although his assessment is based on personal observations.

“I don’t have data, but by the way I see things, because Lüderitz is a small town, we know each other very well,” he says.

Herero says rising property prices and rental costs, which he links to the arrival of new oil and gas as well as green hydrogen-related companies, are making it increasingly difficult for ordinary residents to secure land.

Independent Patriots for Change Lüderitz councillor Nehemia Mutaleni says information about developments and opportunities often fails to reach residents in time.

He is calling on the government to speed up the expansion of Lüderitz’s town boundary, saying the issue is repeatedly raised at meetings without progress.

“Every time we have meetings, we hear about land boundary extensions, but nothing is happening,” he says.

–The Green Screen is a collaborative platform that strengthens evidence-based reporting and informed public dialogue on Namibia’s green transition and extractive industries. It is part of the European Union-funded Eco Dialogue Collective, implemented by DW Akademie, the NMT Media Foundation, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), and the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC).

– This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of The Eco Dialogue Collective consortium partners (DW Akademie, NMT Media Foundation, the Institute for Public Policy Research, and the Legal Assistance Centre) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

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