Martin Endjala
Residents of the Ongaaka village in the Omuthiya Constituency in the Oshikoto Region are facing a shortage of water as the wells have run dry.
Emilia Tobias, a concerned community member, told the Windhoek Observer on Tuesday that the village has been facing the same issue for many years.
According to Tobias, the situation caused the closure of the Kandume Combined School.
“The school has no water, and learners who are in the hostel are sometimes sent back home because of the shortage of water. Most of the houses here have tap water, but most of the time the taps are not running, especially during the day. But during the rainy season, you find the tap running. It is very dry out here; there is no water at all. Now we are drawing water from the wells,” she said.
According to Tobias, residents have no choice but to fetch water from another village, which is kilometres away, for some time now.
Tobias added that the situation has recently gotten worse as the water in the wells has become brackish and that it is not fit for human consumption.
“The well water is very brackish, so we usually go fetch water at Okashana, a village nearby. Everybody goes there, and most of the time when you go there, the water is also bad. We are really suffering. My father also complained, saying: “How can we drink this water?” Children coming from school are also forced to drink this water,” said Tobias.
She said they have been reporting about the same issue for many years, but nothing has been done until now.
Tobias suggested that the local authority could put up two boreholes or even one between the two villages to alleviate the issue of a shortage of water.
She said that many adults now flock to Omuthiya to fetch water and ensure their school-going children drink clean water.
This practice, she says, is not sustainable because it is costly.
Councillor Samuel Shivute of the Omuthiya constituency said he is unaware of the situation in Ongaaka because no community member has brought it up.
“Ongaaka village is in close proximity to the government office and the constituency office, which is my office; why did they not approach my office to bring this to my attention? Tell whoever is complaining to come to contact me immediately,” Shivute said.
Oshikoto regional education director, Aletta Eises, denied any closure of Kandume Combined School.
She said she spoke to the school principal, who informed her that the school never closed and that the school has initiated alternative ways of mitigating the shortage of water.
Eises did, however, acknowledge that the shortage of water in the region is known to everyone, but the ministry has put mechanisms in place to cope with the water crisis.
“That concerned person is looking for publicity for elections because it is an election year. They should not try to bring their self-serving politics into education. The school was never closed,” she said.
