/GANIGOBIS – The small community of /Ganigobis, a remote village north-west of Keetmanshoop, were shocked last Friday when they discovered that water pumps and solar panels erected the day before at a nearby borehole were stolen during the night.
Interviewed by New Era, Andreas Goliath (61) expressed his utmost disappointment towards the culprits who robbed them of the availability of water after struggling for so long.
“We were so glad and delighted when the Directorate of Rural Water Supply gave out the tender for the installation of this water infrastructure at the borehole they drilled, as we cannot all get water from the nearby well and Fish River passing through our village – only to be shocked by the theft,” he said.
Goliath continued: “Most of us who made a living from communal farming lost the last bit of our livestock due to the drought, and we have now raised hope to start from scratch now that water has become available, but that was only a one-night dream”.
He explained that the community is totally dependent on water transported in tanks by the Rural Water Supply department.
He said the challenge is that the trucks sometimes only arrive days after water supply is requested.
Meanwhile, Berseba constituency (under which /Ganigobis resorts) councillor Jeremias Goeieman, when interviewed by this publication, said the theft of these pumps and panels has become a trend in the area.
“I was made aware of the incident by the relevant authority, but I do not know what the way forward will be,” he said.
The politician also said this theft caused setbacks and financial implications for the government, since citizens are really suffering from water shortages.
“I would recommend that the ministry puts in place strict security measures at these sites to curb incidents of theft, sabotaging development in communities,” he said.
Approached for comment, //Kharas Rural Water Supply department head Carlo Cloete said the project was not yet handed over by the contractor when the theft took place.
“As such, the equipment was still under the care of the service provider as his property and not that of the line ministry per se,” he explained.
Cloete continued that the contactor opened a criminal case, and police investigations are ongoing.