Africa-Press – Namibia. POPULAR Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani says the current flood situation in the north reaches beyond day-to-day party politics and should be treated as such.
Speaking to Desert Radio yesterday, he called for a collective, holistic approach to the problem.
He, however, expressed dismay at the fact that parliamentary motions that were tabled by his party in the National Assembly over the past years, aimed at the establishment of catchment areas for the floodwater in the affected regions, have been met with inaction.
“I have personally brought motions to the House for the creation of underground water reservoirs as catchment areas, so that we can harvest the Cuvelai Basin’s floodwaters in our underground dams for irrigation use. This has fallen on deaf ears for a number of years,” Venaani said.
He said he was told by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform that its engineers did not agree with the erection of water catchments in the areas.
The government is planning to fail by not planning, as the floods continue to impact the economic architecture of the people, such as crops, schools and housing infrastructure negatively, he said.
Venaani said if the process is hindered by budgetary constraints, the government should pilot at least one dam in one region using affordable materials.
“My party has a one-village-one-dam policy through which we are looking at the possibility of harvesting rainwater, and it can be done,” he said.
Venaani called on the business community to assist.
Similarly, he urged the Office of the Prime Minister through its disaster risk management office to come to farmers’ aid.
“We have sent a delegation headed by our deputy secretary general, who was already in the Ohangwena region to assess the situation, and we are expecting him to bring us a report on what is happening and how we can assist,” Venaani said.
BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS
Agriculture ministry spokesperson Jona Musheko this week agreed with Venaani, saying floodwater harvesting and the erection of earth dams would go a long way in solving the problem.
He said the ministry has deployed these measures in the past, but has since abandoned the process due to other priorities.
“We used to do that years ago, but have not done it for the past five years due to low budget provisions and the unavailability of funds,” Musheko said.
“Looking at the budget we have been receiving as a ministry and focusing on the component that goes to water affairs, it is clearly not enough to also cover the creation of earth dams,” he said, adding the ministry may incorporate such activities in the coming financial year.
Musheko said the ministry has been preoccupied with the refurbishment of water canals as well as the erection of pipelines in the past five years to ensure the provision of potable water in the Kunene, Oshana and Oshikoto regions.
The Namibian has learnt that in the 2022/23 national budget, the ministry was allocated N$1,9 billion, with specific allocations for water infrastructure refurbishment and development programmes.
OSHAKATI CAUTIONED
Meanwhile, residents of Oshakati in the Oshana region have been urged to stay cautious as the floodwaters, are said to be closing in on the town and surrounding areas. Musheko said the water had crossed over the Endola constituency and was headed for Okatana near Oshakati by Tuesday morning.
“There are also some channels that made it through to the side of the Ongwendiva roadblock, while other flows are said to be coming in from the eastern side of Oshikango. Also, the Endola-Omafo Bridge, which was not under water before, has now been submerged since last night (Monday),” Musheko said.
“Residents at Oshakati and Oshana whose homes are constructed along floodplains should either ensure their structures can withstand the floodwater or vacate the areas altogether,” he warned.
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