The Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform has intervened in a water crisis at Omatjete that has been ongoing for years.

The Ministry will be sourcing water from a village near Omatjete to mitigate the ongoing shortage of water in the village.

Situated more than 200 km from Otjiwarongo, Omatjete Village has faced challenges in terms of water availability since even before independence.

About 15 years ago, the regional council installed boreholes and linked them to the reservoir to provide water to the community.

At one point, community members were using pre-paid water metres, though that only lasted about two years before water levels dropped again to alarming levels.

The Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform Ministry has now come to the villagers' aid, sourcing water from another village situated about 30 km from Omatjete.

The water sourced from this village originates from underneath a mountain and is considered a strong source.

At the moment, Omatjete is dependent on one water source that cannot cater to all residents on a daily basis.

A community member, Phillip Ngunovandu, took it upon himself to restore the electrical supply to the borehole in 2021 and pumped 60,000 litres of water, which lasted the community a whole year, at a cost of more than N$50,000.
 
Last year, Ngunovandu, together with the community, cleaned up an existing borehole belonging to the community and installed a borehole pump that currently supplies water to the residents.

The pipeline to the clinic and the school is currently blocked, and the community is calling on the Works and Transport Ministry to intervene.