The Kamanjab Village Council is drilling several boreholes to address the water crisis that residents have been experiencing over the past few months.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Bianca Nguaiko, says the village council received N$5 million from the Office of the Prime Minister to effect this.

Nguaiko says residents have been without water for over six months after the Namwater borehole dried up.

She says that with the funds they received from the Office of the Prime Minister last month, they have appointed a contractor. 

NamWater is planning to develop the new Olushandja Waste Water Treatment Plant in the Omusati Region to increase water supply to the western and southern parts of the region.

NamWater Chief Executive Officer Abraham Nehemiah says in the past 5 years they have been experiencing serious water interruptions, especially during the dry season.

Thus, he says, there is a need to find an amicable solution to the problem.

Design consultants for the new Olushandja Treatment Plant have already been appointed.

NamWater continues the battle to provide water to the northern regions, a situation that has severely impacted humans and livestock in especially remote rural areas.

Namwater Chief Executive Officer Abraham Nehemia says water from the canal has finally reached Oshakati for treatment before it can be distributed.

Residents were for the past month forced to travel long distances to fetch water, some for both household consumption and for their animals.

NamWater Operations Manager Abraham Ashipala has called on the government to consider settling the debts owed to it by rural water schemes.

Oshana local water committee owes the water utility N$59,6 million.

NamWater made an appeal to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources and Development at Oshakati, which is conducting oversight hearings on a motion to write off historic debts.

Oshakati Town Council does not have historic debts, however, it has an outstanding invoice for October of N$2.3 million.

NamWater is working on the rehabilitation of its canal in an effort to ensure that the northern communities have access to an ample supply of clean drinking water.

Two particularly significant portions, Omahenene and Olushandja, have already undergone thorough refurbishment, incurring costs that exceed N$60 million.

NamWater has removed a wall that was built by individuals at Omuthitugwaamalwa Village to divert or privatise water.

The wall interrupted water flow from Olushandja Dam's south wall outlet into the Etaka-Uuvudhiya canal for some 130 kilometres.

The drought had left livestock without water in the Oshana and Omusati regions following poor rainfall.

Namwater then started last week to pump water as a measure of relief for livestock.

Some community members, however, build walls to divert the water from the canal for themselves.

The leadership of the Zambezi region has welcomed the anticipated construction of a raw water pipeline by NamWater.

This pipeline project carries a price tag of N$2.4 million and is poised to effectively meet the future forecasted water needs across both urban and rural areas of the region.

Addressing attendees at the groundbreaking ceremony, the governor of the region, Alufea Sampofu, commended NamWater for its ongoing endeavours in delivering reliable clean water services to the area.

NamWater started pumping water from Olushandja Dam's South wall outlet into the Etaka-Uuvudhiya canal 130 kilometres away.

The water will benefit livestock that are affected by drought in the Oshana and Omusati regions.
 

This year, the governors of Oshana, Omusati, and Oshikoto regions took a trip to Olushandja Dam and the Etaka canal and requested NamWater pump water from Olushandja Dam into the Etaka canal in response to the water crisis.

The rehabilitation work on the Namwater canal from Olushandja Dam to Uuvudhiya Constituency, stretching over 130 kilometres, is said to be progressing well.

The N$3 million project is funded by the Office of the Prime Minister and is expected to be completed by September this year.

The project, which commenced in April, has so far seen the canal cleared for the free flow of water from Olushandja leading to Tsandi and other surrounding villages without any hindrance.

The outgoing chairperson of the Namwater Board of Directors announced that they are leaving the company with a positive balance, having improved it by N$215 million compared to when they assumed their position.

Thaddius Maswahu made this statement during the appointment of a new board for Namwater by the Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Forestry, Carl Schlettwein.

The outgoing board was appointed in 2017, and their three-year term was extended with an additional term.