Traditional wells remain only hope for Oshikoto residents

Residents in the rural areas of the Oshikoto Region have relayed how traditional wells are their only hope as efforts from the Ministry of Agriculture , Water and Land Reform ( MAWLR ) remain in vain . Villages in the Eengodi and Okankolo constituencies have normalised getting water from traditional wells , which sometimes dry out , leaving them without water for several hours while the wells fill up again . According to Eengodi Constituency councillor , Protasius Neshuku in an interview with Nampa on Tuesday , traditional wells are their only hope because the water in all the boreholes is salty and therefore not consumable . ' We have been complaining about thirst for years now , but nothing is being done and the only way is for us to stick to our traditional wells ,' Neshuku said . Neshuku also urged the ministry to speed up the desalination process in some of the boreholes because many communities gather at traditional wells for hours to get water . Ohaiyanda village ' s headman , Johannes Shigwedha also described the drought situation as a usual occurrence during the months of May to December , when people turn to traditional wells to get water . MAWLR head of rural water supply in Oshikoto , Stevenson Tuukondjele said they have taken note of the challenges of salty borehole water and low pipe water pressure . He added that the ministry ' s water tanker truck has broken down and as a result , they are not able to transport water to the communities in the Eengodi and Okankolo constituencies . Tuukondjele also highlighted that the issue with low water pressure will be resolved as soon as the Ondangwa - Omutsegwonime pipeline is repaired and upgraded in order to increase water security in those areas . ' MAWLR has recently introduced mini desalination plants to purify salty borehole water . Two boreholes at Omeyantalala and Otanaha were desalinated using reverse osmosis . Four others at Onelago , Akazulu , Oshikondailwa and Otatashe have been awarded to the contractors to be desalinated ,' Tuukondjele said So urce: The Namibia News Agency