By: Hilma Tuukondjele 

Daniel Petrus, a small-scale farmer at Etunda Green Scheme, says he has not been able to water his crops for seven days since the manager of Etunda removed his water meter. 

He said that in June, the project got an invoice from the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Nored) stating that they owed and had outstanding fees from April and May and with that, the office asked each farmer to pay N$4 500 to cover the debt. 

“When they did that, they just told us verbally. They did not even write a letter to us to explain the issue”, he said. 

He explains that every farmer was asked to pay N$4 500 before 30 June 2022, and they said that they complained since they weren’t able to do it. 

“They then extended the date to 10 July, and not all farmers could afford N$4 500 since the agreement was for farmers to pay after the harvest, which was after three to six months, and it became difficult for farmers to pay, Petrus said. 

However, he cried that the Etunda office did not go back to the farmers that couldn’t pay for any negotiations. This resulted in the team removing the water meter on 12 July.

“As I speak, they removed the water meter of each farmer that didn’t pay, and there are about 20 farmers, but we did not see the paper,” he said. 

He said that they usually take their meter readings every month and pay according to what was on their water meter.

He added that it’s the first time they are asking farmers to pay N$ 4 500 in cash, claiming that he was not notified about his outstanding account when the manager removed the water. 

Petrus told The Villager that he asked the officer if he could pay N$4 000 and then pay the remaining after harvest; however, the office disapproved of this proposal, and he now cries they denied now his crops are dying. 

“What we want is that if a farmer pays at least half the amount, they can get back their water meter and continue with their fields since the money we get is from the crops, there’s no other way a farmer can get money and there is nowhere to borrow money in this condition, ” he said. 

According to him, his statement shows that he doesn’t have any outstanding water bills. 

Meanwhile, Sacky Shilyomunhu, the manager at Etunda, said that the farmer who reported the issue is a rotten farmer. 

“Come to Etunda and talk to the good farmers, there are a variety of farmers, and the farmer you spoke to is a rotten farmer,” he said. 

He added that the system emplaced that farming is a business, and in business, there are costs such as water and electricity, and farmers should pay for the services since nothing is for free. 

“There is nothing wrong with charging farmers,” he said.

Shilyomunhu said there is a formal letter in the office and all the information that the farmers need regarding water and electricity bills. 

He concludes that if farmers didn’t pay, they must make the means to pay or else Namwater would cut the water supply.