Exhibitors at the Helao Nafidi annual expo recently could not reap enough profits, as customers did not show up due to the lack of water in the region.
An exhibitor, who pleaded to be kept anonymous, said they had two stressful weeks at the Helao Nafidi expo.
“The water crisis forced us to always carry in 25 litres of water every time from outside. When we went out of the trade fair premises, we were always expected to pay an amount of N$10 or N$15 when returning. This affected us more, because we were not getting customers due to water shortages already. We were always experiencing smelly toilets – and to make matters worse, they were facing the direction of our stalls,” she lamented.
Several regions in the north have been facing a water crisis due to the system upgrade finalisation at Omahenene-Olushandja since 24 October this year.
Helao Nafidi mayor Darius Shaalukeni said the water crisis affected the expo and the entire region at large.
“Most of the exhibitors could not make their targeted profits because a lot of customers did not want to stay in a place that had no functional toilets. At the end of the day, exhibitors were left with no choice but to go home with unsold goods,” he observed.
Shaalukeni said the town has many boarding schools that have feeding programmes, and management teams plan on sending the learners home because there is no available water for cooking and all other essential needs.
The town council only has one water reservoir in Engela, but it only caters to Engela residents. Other suburbs get water pumped directly to their taps because they have nowhere to store the precious liquid.
“We are still in need of a lot of water reservoirs to help people from different suburbs to sustain water when facing challenges of this nature,” he continued.
Ongwediva mayor Taara Shalyefu said they had it hard to survive without water.
The town has about 23 schools, including boarding schools, which are affected more, as they are also busy with final examinations.
Spokesperson of the Oshakati town council Katarina Kamari said they have indeed been affected badly, especially residents of Oshakati West.
She stated that the council worked tirelessly to provide water for business institutions, schools and hospitals, although they could not do it on a daily basis because the expectant beneficiaries are a lot.
“I urge all community members to start reserving water for later use so that they do not suffer when we face challenges of this nature,” advised Kamari.
Ondangwa spokesperson Petrina Shitalangaho-Mutikisha said the water crisis has been problematic there as well.
She elucidated that they do not have a water reservoir in the town, and most of the residents thus suffer when push comes to shove.
“We have water towers that can only sustain water for a day because the houses are a lot,” she said.
Omuthiya town council spokesperson Ottilie Shingenge expressed similar problems.
“As we speak, the only alternatives are to assist hospitals and schools with water. The rest of the community members are thus asked to find their own water,” she said.