Omuntele constituency councillor Sackeus Nangula has applauded the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry for providing free prepaid water meters to 3 000 farmers and households in the area.
Nangula said the ministry has been providing local farmers with prepaid water meters since 2017, when a concrete water reservoir was constructed in the area in the same year.
The prepaid water meters would otherwise have had to be purchased at a cost of N$1 200 per unit.
Nangula said the ministry as recently as last month handed over 100 water meters to farmers.
“We do not have a challenge with water in the area as the reservoir provides water to every corner of this area,” he said.
Nangula explained that due to the area’s saline soil, earth dam excavation is not feasible, making the reservoir the primary water source.
Stevenson Tuukondjele, the head of the rural water supply directorate in the Oshikoto region, confirmed that the free meters are being allocated to communal farmers and households near the reservoir, in accordance with the 2017 agreement.
He emphasised that the ministry’s goal is to ensure the longevity of the pipeline supplying water to other communities.
The three-million-cubic-meter reservoir also helps reduce water pressure on the pipeline from Ondangwa.
“We are trying to replicate the water meters,” Tuukondjele said, indicating plans for further distribution.
The reservoir provides water to more than 110 villages in the constituency and the region at large.
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