Critical daily operations at the Otjinene clinic, magistrate’s court, NaTIS office and many other key public facilities were severely disrupted for over three days due to electricity and water outage, which lasted from Sunday and until late Tuesday. 

Schools were forced to temporarily release learners from hostels, while those that remained were advised to relieve themselves in nearby bushes. 

The town’s clinic, which serves the constituency’s population of about 6,900 inhabitants, had to source water through mobile tanks from nearby waterpoints to ensure that patients could still take their prescribed medications and those waiting in queues for treatment could keep themselves hydrated. 

Those hit hardest by the electricity and water disruption were the town’s small business owners, whose meat products, fresh produce and other perishable commodities were severely affected by the outage, which the leadership of the Otjinene Village Council has blamed on NamPower. 

Otjinene mayor Billy Katjatenja said as the town’s leadership, they are deeply disappointed with the lapse in communication between his office and NamPower, and with how the power supply issue to the town continues to be a going concern. 

“It is indeed very disappointing I must admit. There was no proper communication with NamPower for us to understand the situation and be able to make an informed decision. The residents were worried and constantly calling our phones looking for answers and clarity, but we could not provide any concrete answers to them because Nampower was not providing updates as expected. We are later told that the problem with supply was with one of the transformers in the Steinhausen route, which feeds Otjinene,” said Katjatenja. 

He explained that the water supply at the town is secured through multiple NamWater pumps, which are powered by electricity, which means if the town experiences electricity disruptions, water supply is also compromised. 

“That means without electricity, there won’t be water supply to all the points of the town. That is why we did not have both water and electricity for almost over three days. People were badly affected, especially our small businesspeople. It was a sad situation to witness. The problems of electricity supply to Otjinene are nothing new and it cannot continue this way. Either NamPower must provide us with long-term solutions, or we will be forced to look at other energy source alternatives such as solar power plants and so forth. If NamPower needs to upgrade their supply by setting up a new power plant here, we are ready to avail land for such purposes. Otjinene is a rapidly growing town, and these problems affect investors’ confidence.” 

Outcry 

Local small business owner Tangee Hepuite said she was hard hit as she had to downscale operations for those three days, as she could not sell warm beverages to her customers. 

“I tried staying open by using a generator to keep my fridges running but the cost of buying petrol every day was not worth it. In the end, I had to close by bar for those days as there was nothing I could do. We truly were in the dark about the situation as no communication was coming from the tow’s leadership. But it is almost an everyday problem here at Otjinene,” said Hepuite. 

Welder Jonas Mujoro was also affected by the disruptions. “I had a standoff with clients who were expecting their cattle water trough orders to be finalised by Monday, but I could not work as we had no electricity. The issue of electricity outage has been a problem for years here and it seems nothing is being done to address it. Welding is the only job I do, and it is what supports my family, and now imagine going for three days without any income. It is very unpleasant,” stated Mujoro. 

Meanwhile, Katjatenja said that although both water and electricity had been restored as of yesterday, they will elevate discussions to the office of the regional governor and subsequently to the line minister’s office to find lasting solutions. 

Otjinene was proclaimed a village by the government in 2011 and is governed by a village council that has five seats, where Katjatenja currently serves as the chairperson of the Otjinene Village Council. 

– ohembapu@nepc.com.na