ONGWEDIVA – Amidst water shortages still being experienced in Ohangwena, the regional council dismissed the video circulating on social media of villagers tapping water from a muddy hole at Ohaimbudu, saying the video does not depict the current situation.
Ohaimbudu is situated in Epembe constituency and is in one of the four constituencies in the region that are hard hit by the scarcity of water.
Epembe, Omundaungilo, Oshikunde and Okongo do not have water pipelines, hence do not have potable water and residents mainly depend on borehole water, which in most instances is high in fluoride and is not fit for human and animal consumption.
In areas where the water is not fit for consumption, villagers resort to traditional wells and earth dams to draw their water.
Chief regional officer for Ohangwena region Fillipus Shilongo said the regional council in collaboration with other stakeholders in the water sectors came up with short and long term goals in order to address the problem at hand.
“As part of our short term strategy, the Ohangwena regional council in collaboration with NamWater has started ferrying water to Ohaimbudu village and many other localities that face the same challenges, in making sure that residents have access to clean drinking water,” said Shilongo.
In addition, the government according to Shilongo has also put up a 10 000 litre water tank at Ohaimbudu and at other needy villages.
The tanks are filled with water every two weeks.
Also, the ministry of agriculture partnered with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to drill boreholes from aquifer II and a water pipe network to villages such as Omupanda, Onghwii and Ohakafiya.
The said pipeline will also take water to Oshikunde East and West.
At the same time, the Epembe constituency development committee is also procuring water pipes to reticulate water to other affected areas in the constituency.
The N$24.7 million which was allocated to the region to mitigate water shortages as part of the drought relief programme for the 2019/2020 financial year, will be used to drill boreholes in Oshikunde, Epembe and Omundaungilo.
In Epembe in particular, there will be water pipelines from Okamwandi to Ohaimbudu and further to Oshilambwili.
Equally, there will also be a water pipeline from Onhinda to Ohamikoka, Ohamutwetautende and to Oneishiyo.
In an event where funds become available, the council will also look into extending water lines from Ohamatundu to Ohenghono and Oshilwambwili and also from Oshamono to Outanda, Onduludiya and further to Oluungu.