Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) president McHenry Venaani promises to prioritise providing all Namibians with access to water if his party is voted into power.
Speaking at a party rally at Walvis Bay on Saturday, Venaani said Namibia should not have people who complain about water scarcity – especially not at the coast.
“This government is playing. I have visited settlements in Erongo. I went to villages like Spitzkoppe, Okombahe, Tubuses and Oshimbingwe, among others. People have no water. People are poor.
“They are asking how they should vote for people who do not give them water while they are close to the sea. Go to Israel and Egypt – see how they’ve developed along the Nile. Go to Morocco. These are also desert areas, but they are green.
“They’ve used water technology to transform their lives. Israel is a net exporter of food. Egypt feeds over 200 million people with Nile water in the desert. Namibia has the sea, but people are dying of hunger,” he said.
Venaani promised his administration would develop desalination plants along the coast to pump water inland, adding that the desert would be turned into irrigation farms that would create food security.
He said water would be stored at points within 100m of settlements, especially in places where human-wildlife conflict is likely to occur.
Vennani said he would spend 10% of the country’s gross domestic product on agriculture to stimulate value chains, create jobs, and boost food security.
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