Namibians living along perenial rivers better off – Mutorwa

THE agriculture, water and forestry minister John Mutorwa (photo) says the water crisis in the country is more acute in central Namibia and the Erongo region than elsewhere.

Namibians living along perennial rivers such as the Okavango, which the country shares with Angola and Botswana, are better off, he noted.

The water levels at the three main dams – Omatako, Von Bach and Swakoppoort – which supply the central areas, are very low, and may run dry before the end of this year.

“The south is still okay. If you look at the dam levels of Naute, it is still almost full, and the Hardap region is relatively okay,” the minister said at a meeting with Kavango West governor Sirkka Ausiku and regional councillors last week.

Mutorwa is conducting field visits to all 14 regions while parliament is in recess. The field visits are aimed at interacting with farmers and other stakeholders of his ministry’s operations, and for him to be betterinformed of the situation on the ground.

He said for the coast, a viable solution lies in the desalination of water.

In the Kavango West region, there are also challenges as there are certain areas where money is spent on drilling boreholes which are found to be dry as the rainfall has not been sufficient.

“It is the rain that enriches and recharges the underground water. If you have successive years of drought, then your underground water is also not recharged,” the minister stated.

Mutorwa informed the gathering that before his visit to the region, he had a planning meeting in Windhoek with all officials in the water sector, which are NamWater, the Directorate of Water Supply in his ministry and the City of Windhoek.

All directors and senior staff attended the meeting, where it was reiterated that there is no other option but to work hard, implement plans and establish through proper planning what the budget and shortfalls of the ministry is.

As the line minister, Mutorwa said he would then inform government on the financing of these plans as well as the shortfalls regarding the water crisis.

“This would also give government a chance to collectively see how to deal with the issues of water,” he noted.

Mutorwa will begin his tour of the Kavango East region on Monday.

Nampa

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.