The water crisis in Rundu continues unabated. 

Various households still go for hours without water every day, while some schools are still sending children home early due to the unavailability of water. 

The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, engaged the regional leadership on Thursday to find lasting solutions to the ongoing problem. 

During the engagement, the overall view from the Rundu Town Council was that Rundu's water infrastructure is unable to keep up with the demand of the growing population, hence the ongoing water crisis. 

Town Council also pinpointed financial constraints as a major setback, but the Minister said it's time a permanent solution is found. 

"Before I left, I spoke to the Minister of Finance, and I said, I am going to Rundu; you have heard about the water crisis; be ready; whatever situation that will dictate, to help us to supply water, the Minister is ready. It's only for us to work out the modalities and how we go about it." 

The issue of emptying school septic tanks on time also came to the fore, with schools often having to wait until the sewage overflows due to an impractical procurement process. 

"And when they wait for this thing to come here, the person responsible for procurement is in New York attending a workshop; it is a serious predicament, and now the minister must come and solve our problem. It's our own problem here in the region. How do we manage? How do we get our house in order? This thing of calling every school every day, then the people must hit procurement and approve, it cannot practically work. We are dealing with the lives of learners and teachers who have to give quality education," explained Kavango East Governor, Bonifatius Wakudumo.

The minister's first stop was a visit to the Ndama Junior Primary School, which closed down for an entire week after learners were found relieving themselves in the schoolyard following a water crisis.

Upon arrival at the school, the team noticed a foul smell in the air. 

The manhole was overflowing due to a blockage. Learners were stepping on water overflowing from the toilets, exactly a week after the school reopened. 

"We need urgent intervention of a proper sewer line that would connect the school to the pump station that would pump the sewer water to the pond." 

The minister was also taken to a site where residents were cutting water pipes to either do their laundry or collect water for household use. 

The regional leadership says the town is in the process of drilling 21 boreholes that would hopefully solve water challenges.