God took time to create Namibia, with all its contrasting beauty, but I think He forgot to endow it with abundance of water. Perhaps in His infinite wisdom, He wanted us to display excellence in managing our scarce water resource and become the envy of other nations. Managing a scarce resource such as water presents particular challenges and opportunities.
The politics of water is often referred to as “hydropolitics”. It is politics affected by the availability of water and water resources, the basic need for all life forms and human development. The term hydropolitics was first used in the book of Dr John Waterbury titled Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley, Syracuse University Press, 1979.
Hydropolitics aside, it is a known fact that food, water, shelter and fire are a requirement for survival. However, in my view, water and shelter are the most important. My late grandfather would say “a week without water is probably the same as an hour without breathing.” That is to say, without water, there is no life, hence the expression “water is life”. Every citizen or resident of Namibia is therefore a consumer of water.
To its credit, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry has been proactive in terms of policy interventions including reform of the water sector since independence. For example, the Ministry, with financial assistance from GTZ and the World Bank, undertook a project, the Namibia Water Resources Management Review (NWRMR) in 1998, led by a technical team comprised of young Namibians with relevant academic backgrounds. The NWRMR was conducted with extensive public consultation and resulted in the Water Resources Management Act, wherein an institutional framework was proposed on the distinction to be made between the water resources manager, the water supplier and the water sector regulator. Sadly, the good recommendations from this project are not fully implemented. Prior to the NWRMR project, the Ministry separated the bulk water supply function from the Department of Water Affairs and commercialized it through the creation of the Namibia Water Corporation Ltd (NamWater) in 1997.
However, with an average annual rainfall of 250 millimeters per year (mm/yr), Namibia is often described as the most arid country in Southern Africa. The source of our water can be divided into two parts, namely, water from within the country and the water obtained from the perennial rivers that we share with our neighbouring countries. The internationally shared water sources are the perennial Kunene, Kavango and Zambezi rivers, as well as the ephemeral Cuvelai system that drains from the south of Angola into the Etosha basin in northern Namibia. In the south, there is the perennial, albeit heavily regulated, Orange River.
The Water Master Plan, which was developed in the 1970s (as well as Water Master Plans of post-independence), provide that “the water resources of the international rivers should be used as much as possible adjacent to those rivers, but when it becomes necessary, water must be transported into the interior of the country to augment the internal water sources.”
In this regard, two major national water carriers were developed namely the Calueque-Oshakati Water Scheme that carries water from the Cunene River in southern Angola to the Cuvelai basin in northern Namibia, and the Eastern National Water Carrier, which currently is taking water to Windhoek from Grootfontein.
In addition, a study is underway to extend the Eastern National Water Carrier from Grootfontein to Rundu. This may complement earlier initiatives on the SADC level such as the idea mooted by then President Sam Nujoma of Namibia of transferring water from the Congo River, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in order to meet the water needs of Namibia and Botswana, the most water scarce countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) (see Ngurare, T.E., Legal and Institutional Implications of Cross-Border Water Pipelines in International Law, 2001).
The above challenges notwithstanding, the government has worked hard through the Department of Rural Water Supply in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and NamWater to extend water to many parts of the country. However, according to water expert Peter Heyns writing in the IWA publication – “… based upon the available data for Namibia, the country is in a state of absolute water scarcity as far as the adequacy of the resources to meet the demand is concerned.”
The water scarcity has affected poor Namibians the most, particularly those in rural areas. In recent months, the City of Windhoek has announced measures with the potential to affect residents of urban areas particularly the wealthy in Windhoek. All of a sudden there is risk to the water filling up our swimming pools, our bathtubs, our showers, our kitchens or our lawns. There is a potential threat to our lawns and we are unable to wash our cars. The businesses in the city too, like coffee shops, restaurants, hairdressers, dry-cleaners, etc. may be affected. No doubt these are serious challenges and these are serious concerns. However, lest we forget, thousands of Namibians have been walking for more than 5km to the nearest water tap, and women and children in rural areas spend entire days waiting for water. In Onkumbula, Otamanzi, Mankupi and many other constituencies this is a perennial problem. What is to be done? It must begin by appreciating the economic and social value of water.
The common sense of the above is that theories are good but the people, especially those in rural areas, deserve practical implementation of interventions that are responsive to their needs. It means that the ministry responsible for water affairs should be empowered with the necessary resources, both human and financial, and in the case of the latter with over N$20 billion to be earmarked for improvement and development of water infrastructure throughout the country, particularly in rural areas. This could ensure that taking into account the abstraction limitations imposed by the Water Act, each village could be provided with adequate borehole or piped water for both human and livestock. This is water within the household, not water to be obtained at long distances.
• Dr Elijah Ngurare is a board member of NamWater but the views expressed here are not necessarily those of NamWater. He was one of the young Namibian professionals who worked for the Namibia Water Resources Management Review project.