A once-thriving vegetable gardening project in the Kavango West Region has ground to a halt after its solar-powered water system was repeatedly stolen, transforming productive farmland into grazing land.
The Sihetekela gardening project in Siudiva Village, Nkurenkuru Constituency, shows no signs of recovery following the theft of solar equipment used to pump water from the river.
Nkurenkuru Constituency's Control Administrative Officer, Seija Nairenge, stated that the project was initially funded by CRAVE through the Ministry of Agriculture between 2021 and 2022, at a cost of about N$400,000.
"Then there was an incident that happened. These solar panels got stolen. However, as a constituency, through our regional leaders, we decided to revive the project. We replaced the solar panels using our VAT fund for the constituency to replace the solar panel, costing us an amount of N$212,917.47."
Despite this intervention, another theft occurred earlier this month, when young men were allegedly caught removing solar components from the site. The incident has raised serious concerns about the project's sustainability and security.
"And then last week, we heard of an incident that certain individuals entered the garden, and they were cutting out some boxes from the control box. Luckily, one of the project members happened to walk to the site and saw these young boys removing those small boxes from the control box."
During a recent visit, the site was found overgrown with grass, with no visible farming activities.
This marks a stark contrast to its state during a Regional Council monitoring visit in October last year, when the garden was still progressing.
Responding to questions on security, project chairperson Justina Sakeus said members take turns sleeping at the site overnight and leave in the morning. However, she noted that thefts often occur during the day, when the responsible person steps away for lunch or other duties.
Despite the setbacks, project members believe the Regional Council should assist in reinstalling the recovered solar equipment to revive operations.
Key resolutions from the ad hoc meeting include assistance from the Water Supply and Sanitation Coordination Unit to reinstall the recovered equipment. Constituency staff will also conduct awareness campaigns to educate members on safeguarding projects. In addition, the current membership will be reviewed, with new members appointed to manage the project going forward.