Minister of Urban and Rural Development James Sankwasa has given the Kavango East regional leadership two days to find a solution to the water crisis in Rundu.

Rundu residents have been facing water problems for years, and the minister asserted that those in positions of power have not urgently addressed the water crisis.  

Minister Sankwasa met with regional and local authority leaders as well as various other stakeholders to find out what exactly is causing the water crisis. 

During the engagement, the minister made a call on NamWater's Head of Business Unit North East, George Diergaardt, and gave the company one day to provide a solution that ensures residents have access to water. 

Both NamWater and Rundu Town Council are unable to keep up with the water demands of the second-largest populated area in Namibia. 

Both institutions need to upgrade their water infrastructure, and on top of that, the town council owes the bulk water supplier N$397 million. 

The construction of a water treatment plant is currently underway at Rundu, and once finished, the town and surrounding areas are expected to have a continuous supply of water. That project is expected to be completed in 2026. 

Sankwasa said residents have been waiting for too long, and they cannot afford to wait for another year. 

"Does NamWater really have the capacity to deliver in terms of the government's expectations of outsourcing this function from government to the private sector so that it can be more efficiently done? Does it have capacity? Be honest with me… then deliver that capacity. I want to see it… I want to see that capacity within today and tomorrow; I want to see that capacity… I am talking to you, Comrade Diergaardt, as a chief, and I am talking to your people; they are here. Let the water fill up the towers with that capacity."

Sankwasa ordered the bulk water supplier, the town council, and the regional council to find a solution as quickly as possible, putting the region's governor in charge.