By Alvine Kapitako
WINDHOEK- Some residents of Groot Aub, a settlement south of Windhoek, have resorted to hand dug wells in search of water after many community taps stopped working nearly five months ago.
The last time water dripped from such taps was in September last year, thirsty residents say.
Only the area around a local clinic has a functioning water system
Residents who spoke to New Era could no longer keep their frustrations to themselves over what they termed a “water crisis”.
“We, the Groot Aub community, are very unhappy about this water crisis. It’s a big problem. The vegetables that we plant in our gardens are dying because we do not water them because we do not have water,” said an irate resident of Groot Aub, Timotheus Beukes.
Taps in Groot Aub have been dry and the settlement has been without potable water. Many residents are affected by this, said Beukes.
Sources told New Era that there are not many boreholes to sustain the entire Groot Aub community and that nobody was really responsible for the water system at the settlement.
“We have to walk to the river and dig holes for us to get water but it is salty,” Beukes said adding that there were few boreholes in the settlement which led to the crisis.
“Our people are really suffering. There is no water at all. It’s only in the centre of the town (settlement) where water comes for an hour or two,” John Elago, the Swapo party District Coordinator for Windhoek rural said. Elago too said that the residents had resorted to hand dug wells in the river to get water.
“Taps have been dry since September last year. It is more terrible for those who have animals because they have to find water for themselves and their for livestock,” said Elago.
“The water that we dig is very salty. We have to boil and cool it before we use it,” said Rina Forbes, a resident of Oshakati location in Groot Aub.
“We have water meters and flush toilets but we don’t have water. We have to carry buckets of water to flush our toilets. We reported the matter to the authorities but we were told to wait. We held meetings yet nothing has been done about it,” Forbes said.
Elago urged the leadership of the Windhoek Rural constituency to address the matter urgently.
“We can raise funds if need be but they need to tell us what the challenges are and how we can help,” Elago remarked.
The Windhoek rural constituency councillor, Arie Frederick was not reachable yesterday as his mobile phone was off. New Era could not get comment from the Khomas Regional Council as the people who are allowed to comment were said to be on leave.