WINDHOEK - The government has allocated an amount of N$19.2 million to connect water pipes in the Zambezi Region.
This was revealed by Zambezi regional governor Lawrence Sampofu who said the region is experiencing water scarcity, hence the government’s intervention.
Sampofu confirmed that some boreholes are drying up. Equally, he said rivers such Chobe, Linyanti and Kwando are also drying up-leaving ponds and swamps where crocodiles and hippos are to be stranded and even dying. In this regard, he noted the Ministry of Environment and Tourism has intervened to drill boreholes to pump water for these stranded species and also livestock.
“We have a challenge of water. We received N$19.2 million from the Office of the Prime Minister to deal with water scarcity. We bought water pipes to assist communities without water to be connected to boreholes so they don’t move long distances in search of water,” Sampofu said. Although some parts of Namibia received good showers this week, Sampofu expressed that the Zambezi Region did not get good rain.
According to him, they experienced strong wind but there were no damages to properties or trees were reported. Further, the governor said the region is still hard hit by the drought, although grazing conditions are still fair compared to other regions.
However, he revealed the region is challenged with veld fires in areas such as Luhonono, Kabbe north, and south.
“We don’t know why people are burning the grass when they can see the drought. We are appealing to our people not to start veld fires. People should realise that there is drought and grass should be there for our livestock,” he cautioned.
The governor said the region did not experience livestock mortalities due to better grazing conditions.
Additionally, Sampofu stated the government is busy providing fodder and licks to farmers.
The Office of the Prime Minister has availed over N$570 million to assist drought-affected farmers and vulnerable citizens across the country.
The governor said about 250 farmers are currently benefiting from the fodder and lick subsidy by government. “Farmers who cannot afford to buy fodder are happy with the government’s assistance, others can afford to buy their own fodder and licks,” he said.
On the drought relief programme, he said they are distributing the food to people who are affected in the whole region. He further assured that transportation is not an issue, and people are getting their food rations on time.