By:Annakleta Haikera
Government plans to install 43 boreholes at villages which have been prone to crocodile attacks in the Kavango East and West regions.
This was revealed by deputy Executive Director for Water Affairs in the Ministry of Agriculture Elijah Ngurare following numerous reports of crocodile attacks in these two regions.
Most of the deaths resulted from people going to the river to fetch water for consumption.
“We have been in consultation with the Kavango West and East regional leadership, and have started drilling and installing boreholes at specific villages where most of the incidents occur. The Ministry will prioritise drilling at the nearby communities for them not to use the Kavango river,” Ngurare told The Villager.
Ngurare said they have partnered with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to drill for water along the Kavango river.
“We started last year, and will continue this year. It is also difficult to stop people from going to the river. We need to make alternatives. If a person goes fishing, that is a different issue, but for drinking water or washing their laundry, they should use water from the boreholes or that were going to abstract from the river.”
The Ministry plans to not only have water for human consumption, but animals too. Hence, he said, the boreholes will be redesigned with that in mind.
He also urged the community to be on the lookout for thieves that are stealing the equipment used for installation.
Last year, Water and Land Reform Minister, Calle Schlettwein called on law enforcement to improve after expressing concerns over the rise in the theft of borehole pumps.
The police stated that about 18 pumps were stolen last year.
“So far at Mayana village the equipment has been stolen twice already,” Ngurare said.
The Ministry will also drill boreholes in Kunene and Zambezi.
Meanwhile, Mukwe Constituency Councillor Damian Maghambayi said that areas such as Andara, Popa, Divava, Ndiyona, Thikanduko and Shikoro are where crocodile attacks are common.
He said that this might be due to these areas being situated nearby the Bwabwata National Game Park.
Maghambayi also noted that, just in April, four victims were reported to have been attacked including one death.
“The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism should stop defending themselves and should start compensating those that have lost their loved ones through human-wildlife conflict. The Ministry should also add more people to their response team because the team that is at Mukwe is very slow in responding to incidents. The Ministry should build water infrastructure pipelines just like in the Zambezi region so that people can connect water to their homesteads,” Maghambayi said.
In parliament on Thursday, Environment Minister Pohamba Shifeta said incidents of human-wildlife conflict remain a concern, as they seem to overshadow the benefits as well as opportunities created for Namibians.
“These incidents mainly involve infrastructure damage, livestock losses, crop damage, and in some unfortunate incidents, loss of life and injuries to people,” Shifeta said.