The Road Contractor Company (RCC) has begun digging drainage lines in Ndonga Linena, Kavango East Region, to address flooding in homesteads caused by the Ndonga Linena Green Scheme's irrigation system.

This follows Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare's urgent call for action.

The Prime Minister made the call on 27 December, during his visit, to assess the life-threatening situation.

The RCC Site Agent, Pohamba Unovene, said the company started with the project on Wednesday.

"We want to divert the water from people's homes into the main river. However, we are encountering many challenges, mainly with the soil being very soft. We are currently facing challenges in accessing the specific areas where we need to dig our trenches because the machine keeps getting stuck in the soft soil. In addition to the soft nature of the soil, there is also a risk of the trench collapsing. But either way, we are here, we are thinking on our feet, and we are hoping that we can provide a short-term solution while relevant parties come up with the long-term solutions to help this community."

During his visit to the site today, Councillor of Ndonga Linena, Anselm Marungu, called on the affected community members to trust the process.

"Let's remain patient, as we can see the government has already responded in terms of deploying the machine and the engineer who's on site to make sure that this issue comes to rest. Therefore, I urge the residents of Ndonga Linena, particularly those impacted, to exercise patience with us. I am very confident that this problem will be resolved soon."

The affected families have been struggling since 2016, dealing with waterlogged homes and yards, making daily life a challenge.

Their main water source, the river, is only accessible by wading through muddy waters, posing health risks.