The Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform is on a drive to transform and modernise traditional wells in the Oshikoto Region, among other regions.

This will ensure continued water supply and minimise cases of people falling into traditional wells and in some cases, dying, the ministry’s spokesperson, Jona Musheko said in an interview with Nampa on Monday.

The modernisation will include installing structures on the wells’ surfaces, as well as solar panels and pipes to pump water to the surface.

‘We have identified eight traditional wells in the region that need to be modernised by the end of this financial year,’ said Musheko.

The wells were identified in Evale, Oshikondeilwa, Onamishu, Akazulu, and Ohaiyanda.

‘Cases of reports of people dying in the process of looking for water in the Oshikoto and Ohangwena regions are increasing and we are concerned about these cases, which is why the ministry came up with the initiative to modernise traditional wells,’ the spokesperson said.

He further urged
contractors to expedite the drilling of boreholes as delays cause suffering for communities who struggle to access water.

Musheko said the ministry has appointed local contractors to drill boreholes in the region, but they have been slow to complete the work.

‘There are a total of 12 boreholes that have not been drilled. If these contractors do not finish drilling the boreholes by the end of this financial year, we will blacklist them,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia News Agency