OTAMANZI – The governors of the Omusati and Oshana regions expressed dissatisfaction with some community members in Otamanzi diverting water from the canal.
Omusati governor Erginus Endjala and his counterpart from Oshana Elia Irimari said this during drought and water assessment meetings in different constituencies of their regions. Community members had earlier complained about the lack of water, and the slow water flow in the canal from the Etaka dam.
Farmers in Oponona and villages nearby are thus forced to walk over 30 kilometres to look for water at Uuvudhiya every day.
Upon their arrival at the mainstream water canal in Otamanzi in the Omusati region, the governors came across a point where the water canal was tampered with. This resulted in the water stopping at one specific point and creating an earth dam, instead of flowing further up to Oponona, which is some 55.8km away.
“This is selfishness of only one person wanting to benefit, while the others are thirsty.
We are forever getting phone calls from community members in different constituencies, complaining about the delay of water. But little did we know some people are taking ownership of what belongs to the community,” stressed Endjala.
On his part, Irimari indicated that the water is meant for the livelihoods of all people and animals, but people are being inconsiderate.
“The aim was for the water to reach Oponona lake because that is where a lot of animals are based. Now that we have some people blocking the flow of water from the mainstream line to divert into their villages, punishable measures will be put in place against these people,” charged Irimari.
He continued that water belongs to the government, and nobody has the power to do what they want with it.
Irimari said they are going to assign people duties, including enlisting the police, to start controlling the water flow.
Senior water hydrologist at Namwater Leonard Hango stated that the water is meant to go to Okuma right after Lake Oponona in the Omusati region is full.
“Unfortunately, some people broke the canal about four times now at the same spot. This is the fifth time Namwater is fixing that very point. They want to pull water in one direction, which causes a delay of water flow. They are thus impacting the government’s dreams to bring water sources closer to the people,” said Hango.
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