Access to safe and reliable water remains a daily struggle for residents of Onyuva, where families and livestock depend on traditional hand-dug wells in the riverbed for survival.

A visit by the Kunene governor and government officials to the village exposed the difficult conditions under which residents have been forced to access one of life's most basic necessities.

Governor Vipuakuje Muharukua said the situation reflects the urgent need to accelerate service delivery and improve living conditions in remote communities.

“This level of poverty and lack of infrastructure is what we consistently highlight and lament as a region, alongside many other issues that require government support. We urgently need to expedite the delivery of services to our people.”

The village chairperson Kautjiukua Tjivinda stated that residents have relied on these traditional wells for more than a decade.

"Although the government has drilled a borehole in the village, its water supply is insufficient to meet the needs of the entire community and their livestock, forcing many to continue depending on the riverbed wells despite the dangers."

Tjivinda recalled a painful incident in 2017, when a resident sustained serious injuries after falling into one of the wells while watering livestock.

The Chief Agricultural Scientific Officer in the Kunene Region, Charlie Mwaetako, acknowledged that the existing infrastructure requires urgent improvement.