Africa-Press – Namibia. MINISTER of defence and veterans affairs Frans Kapofi last week announced that the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) has been deployed to help extinguish wildfires wreaking havoc on farms near Outjo in the Kunene region.
The fires, which started last Saturday, have not been extinguished and continue to destroy farms, displacing people and killing livestock. An estimated 15 farms have been affected thus far.
The affected farmers, who have been pulling resources together to battle the fires, have been pleading for the government to help. By yesterday, The Namibian was informed that the fire was heading to Outjo.
Kapofi said: “We are aware that there is a devastating fire. The NDF was deployed this [last] week. I don’t know the finer details, but as far as I am concerned the troops were deployed.”
The Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs’ public relations office on Thursday said the NDF’s Otjiwarongo military base has deployed a group of soldiers, who has managed to extinguish a fire at a farm near Outjo.
Chief public relations officer Martin Tomas said the fire, however, erupted again in the early hours of Thursday. Tomas said more troops from the Otjiwarongo, Otavi and Grootfontein military bases have been deployed to fight the fires.
“Despite the mountainous nature of the area, soldiers and community members are doing everything possible to bring the fire down,” he said.
Former Oshakati mayor Katrina Shimbulu on Thursday said she was happy to see the soldiers coming to the farmers’ aid, even though it was too late to save her and many others’ farms.
“My farm and my neighbours’ farms are burnt down 100%,” Shimbulu, who is currently the president of the Association of Local Authorities in Namibia, said. She said the fire continues to spread in other areas, although it has stopped on some of their farms, she said the damage is beyond repair.
“The soldiers came with two water-carrying trucks. Maybe they can save the other farms, because the fire is being carried by the wind and it continues to spread rapidly,”she said.
