Rundu
All Peoples Party coordinator for Kavango East Region Marcellus Haivera has urged government to desist from plans to pipe water from the Kavango River to Windhoek and other central areas, claiming such a plan will end up draining the river and cause it to dry up.
‘The reason I called you is for me to say something on the ongoing discussions of the government to get water from the Kavango River to Windhoek,” Haivera said, adding that providing water to Windhoek residents is a good idea, but as a party they object to the idea of pumping water from the Kavango River to Windhoek, as it is not an ideal plan.
“They want to take water from here, which can result in the river drying up in the near future, causing the Kavango people to be poorer and have no water.”
“I mean, the water level of the Kavango River is not what it used to be back then. The level is now lower, just go and measure the current water level and look at the level the river used to be. It’s not the same, because of the seven green scheme projects making use of the river and we also share it with other countries,” he said.
“Studies have shown that some rivers in Africa have dried up, because of industries. So, we don’t want that to happen to our river. The government must look at other options, not getting the water from the Kavango River to Windhoek, that we don’t want and it is not advisable if you look at the current situation of the river,” Haivera stated.
“The people of the two Kavango regions have been known to be the poorest, so the poorest will die because of no water once it dries up and again they will be given another name of not having water. That is why we are saying no to drawing water from the Kavango River. Whatever it takes, we have to stand our ground.”
Haivera further said he has spoken with traditional and community leaders and none of them support the idea of pumping water from Kavango to Windhoek. He said government should try to find other amicable ways to get water to the capital, such as desalination of seawater, or drilling more boreholes for underground water.
“We object to the idea of pumping water from Kavango to Windhoek, which is more than 700 km away, because we’re already in trouble with poverty. We don’t want to be given a problem of not having water… The government must look into other options to assist Khomas Region,” Haivera insisted.