By: Annakleta Haikera

Agriculture, water and land reform deputy minister Anna Shiweda says that water challenges in the two Kavango regions remain despite the rehabilitation of the Rundu Treatment Plant that minister Calle Schlettwein launched earlier this year.

She said this on Wednesday at Recon Africa, handed over 22 community water wells to the agriculture, water and land reform ministry in the two regions, mainly at the Draai Ya Kamuncaya water well and Epingiro.

“The ministry also bought one water tanker for each of the two Kavango regions. However, challenges remain, especially in these regions. Recently, the ministry has identified villages along the Kavango River which are prone to crocodile attacks.”

She said that in the 2022/23 financial year, the ministry allocated additional financial resources to the directorate of water supply and sanitation coordination to increase water coverage to many rural communities throughout the country, especially in the two regions.

“Through the Namibia water sector support programme,

and as was announced by our minister earlier this year, the ongoing rehabilitation of the Rundu Treatment Plant will enable us to extend water pipelines from Rundu to Katwitwi, Divundu and to Mururani,” she said.

Shiweda also confirmed that the ministry has decided to procure drilling rigs in its effort to expedite water coverage to rural communities.

Therefore the ministry will intend to collaborate with its sister ministry of environment, tourism and forestry in this regard.

Furthermore, in the two Kavango regions, the ministry has been collaborating with the ministry of education and the ministry of health and social services to ensure water coverage and sanitation in rural schools and clinics. This collaboration is ongoing,” she said.

Shiweda received the 22 community boreholes on behalf of the people of Kavango East and Kavango West regions.

“I am delighted to confirm that these community boreholes, including this one at Epingiro Village, have been generously donated by Reconnaissance Energy Namibia, the Namibian subsidiary of Recon Africa, the company exploring for oil and gas in the Kavango East and Kavango West regions.”

Meanwhile, Recon Africa founder Craig Steinke, whose company has been exploring oil in the two Kavango regions, says that regions lack access to potable water and that the company wants to make water a priority there.

“When we got to Namibia a couple of months before we drilled our first stratigraphic well in Kawe, I saw women and children walking long distances with big buckets on their heads carrying water. I soon learned of the dire lack of access to potable water in the Kavango East and Kavango West,” he said.

According to Steinke, through community engagements and consultation with relevant authorities, the company identified and confirmed that safe and secure access to potable water is a great need for the region.

Steinke also thanked the ministry for the collaborative approach to the project, adding that safe and secure access to potable water is definitely an impact the company wants to continue making in the two regions.