Oshikoto residents blasts Govt
• By MARX ITAMALO
OSHIKOTO region residents in northern Namibia have blasted the government for letting them down in their desire for drinkable water.
According to the residents, they continue to drink salty well water 33 years after the country’s independence.
Confidente Newspaper visited villages in Oshikoto’s two constituencies and saw first-hand the difficulty residents face due to lack of drinkable water.
Peter Shimakeleni (18), a resident of Evale village in Oshikoto’s Eengodi constituency, said the area is one of the most remote constituencies in the region, adjoining the constituencies of Nehale lya Mpingana, Okankolo, and Guinas.
“All of these constituencies have previously experienced significant water shortages,” he said.
According to Shimakeleni, he and his three siblings fetch water from a well on their mahangu field.
“This is our only water source. It is salty but at least drinkable. We share it with our domesticated animals. Piped water is scarce here, and many people rely on wells,” he said.
Shimakeleni stated that his community suffers from severe water shortages, so much so that the entire town and two neighbouring villages rely on a single well.
He said this equates to approximately 1,000 people relying on a single borehole for water.
“There are a few more wells, but the water is too salty. The water in this well is salty but moderate,” the grade 9 learner said.
He and other residents of the Eengodi constituency have been waiting for piped water, which the government promised to provide.
However, nothing has been done three years later to fulfil the promise.
“When Protasius Neshuku was elected to the council, he promised to provide us water. He stated that water would be his top focus. We are yet to see the fruition of his promise. We were promised that pipes would be dug and that the Agriculture and Water Ministries would hire employees to dig trenches for the pipeline to our region, but we have not seen anything in three years. We will see their explanation for failing us next year,” he said.
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