Ombara Manasse Zeraua of the Zeraua Traditional Authority says the water challenge is hindering horticulture progress in communal areas of Omatjete.

Ombara Manasse Zeraua informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources about the water problems at Omatjete when they visited resettlement farms in the Erongo Region.

"My communal area, as you know, has always been in the news for lack of water. We have no water at all. In the newspaper, you would always read that the clinic is closed and the schools have closed because of a lack of water. I had been on the neck of our Government."

Ombara Zeraua says that after putting pressure on the government, a project to create a pipeline to draw water from Ozondati was approved.

"Now they are trying to put some pipelines in, but for now we had to put it in writing and deliver a request to the office of the Prime Minister, and they gave us some trucks. Now they are transporting water from Okombahe on a daily basis to Omatjete to supply the school, the clinic, and the residents. That's the process that's been going on for some time." We hope that with the completion of these pipelines, the problem of water can be alleviated, and when you have water, that will also expand the opportunity for people to do farming."

The traditional leader believes Omatjete has the potential to produce fruits and vegetables for its own consumption and commercial purposes.

"We have got a farm there under the authority, my authority, a very big one, in a fertile area where people have started now what, putting in big gardens, and the idea is to produce more agriculture products for the market. Basically, we intend to encourage the youth, of course, and our mothers to be active as well. But in the absence of water, we cannot do much."

The traditional leader appealed to the parliamentarians to assist in speeding up the process.