Water has to be paid for, says Toetemeyer

DEPUTY Minister of Regional and Local Government and Housing Gerhard Toetemeyer said yesterday that Namibians should not be viewed as being “forced” to pay for water.

It was common practice the world over to do so, he said. Referring to water problems at Opuwo, where residents are reluctant to pay for water because of its poor quality, Toetemeyer said steps were being taken to rectify the situation but that it would cost as much as N$22 million to do so.He was responding to questions by DTA MP Phillemon Moongo in the National Assembly.Moongo charged that the water in the area posed a health concern to people consuming it and that they were being “forced” to pay for water.Toetemeyer explained that, as NamWater’s two major customers in the area, the Kunene Regional Council and the Opuwo Town Council had to charge consumers to recover the costs incurred for bulk water supply.Toetemeyer said it was known that the water in the area was considered of poor quality because it was very hard and salty due to high concentrations of calcium and magnesium carbonates.He noted that the quality of the water was causing blockages in the pipelines and taps.The Deputy Minister said a joint technical committee comprised of Ministry officials, the Opuwo Town Council, NamWater and the Kunene Regional Council had come up with a proposal to improve the water supply scheme to Opuwo by building a water treatment plant to remove scale-forming chemicals.Toetemeyer said another objective was to replace the reticulation system at Opuwo and to build up the capacity of the Opuwo Town Council to operate the new system properly.But, he added, funding for the various options up for consideration still required funding.Referring to water problems at Opuwo, where residents are reluctant to pay for water because of its poor quality, Toetemeyer said steps were being taken to rectify the situation but that it would cost as much as N$22 million to do so.He was responding to questions by DTA MP Phillemon Moongo in the National Assembly.Moongo charged that the water in the area posed a health concern to people consuming it and that they were being “forced” to pay for water.Toetemeyer explained that, as NamWater’s two major customers in the area, the Kunene Regional Council and the Opuwo Town Council had to charge consumers to recover the costs incurred for bulk water supply.Toetemeyer said it was known that the water in the area was considered of poor quality because it was very hard and salty due to high concentrations of calcium and magnesium carbonates.He noted that the quality of the water was causing blockages in the pipelines and taps.The Deputy Minister said a joint technical committee comprised of Ministry officials, the Opuwo Town Council, NamWater and the Kunene Regional Council had come up with a proposal to improve the water supply scheme to Opuwo by building a water treatment plant to remove scale-forming chemicals.Toetemeyer said another objective was to replace the reticulation system at Opuwo and to build up the capacity of the Opuwo Town Council to operate the new system properly.But, he added, funding for the various options up for consideration still required funding.