Water woes persist in Kavango ahead of elections

Residents of the two Kavango regions are struggling with recurrent problems ahead of the elections.

These include water scarcity and human-wildlife conflicts.

This is despite political parties promising to deal with some of the problems that the region has been facing for the past 34 years, including poor road infrastructure and un­availability of basic services like electricity.

Rundu Rural constituency councillor Paulus Mbangu says, since independence, the region has failed to improve production from green schemes.

He says farmers in the area are facing financial challenges in affording farming implements and buying seeds.

“Tractors made available by the government are not enough, that makes it difficult for farmers,” says Mbangu, adding that some tractors were given too late, negatively affecting farmers in the process.

“The government should modernise and mechanise agriculture, it is the only way to go,” Mbangu notes.

Ndonga Linena constituency councillor Micheal Kampota says there is a need for the current government to attract private investors to improve the efficiency of green schemes.

Kampota also raises concern over human-wildlife conflict cases which have resulted in some citizens being killed by wild animals.

“Many lives have been lost due to crocodile or hippopotamus attacks at the river and wildlife such as lions or elephants,” he says.

“Wildlife destroys people’s crops and some of the affected people don’t benefit or get compensated,” Kampota says.

A resident of Ndama location at Rundu in the Kavango East region, Rosvitha Ndumba, says the water crisis is worsening daily.

“We are tired of this dialogue of water at Rundu. The town council management is taking advantage of residents because no proper action is taken,” Ndumba says.

She says recently, they did not have water for almost two months.

“All the promises the town council has made to improve water supply have been in vain. The borehole which was stated to cater to the upper side of the town, which is Ndama south and Sikanduko, has not made any impact or changes so far,” says Ndumba.

Nicolas Kasera, a Sun City resident, raised concerns about poor service delivery.

“Water scarcity is a burning issue in this town and region at large, people still utilise the river to fetch water and our lives are at risk because the same leaders denying us using the river are not solving the problem on the ground,” says Kasera.

He says the unavailability of water causes fights among residents.

“The town council insisted on upgrading the water supply to a location south of Rundu and this lasted only for a couple of weeks. As we speak, taps in houses are dry, having been without water for almost two or more months,” Kasera notes.

He encourages any political party that wins the elections to tackle the challenges head on.

“A borehole at Ndama South is of no use, and community members are suffering because since it was drilled, no progress has been made,” he says.

Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah says the government has been failing the people of the Kavango regions since independence.

“In 34 years of independence, the government has not done enough for Kavango East and West. Promises of development and improved services, especially for water and agriculture, haven’t been fully met,” he says.

He adds: “Political parties, including the ruling Swapo, often make big promises during elections, but many of these remain unfulfilled, especially regarding water and infrastructure.”