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Namibia: North 'Needs Earth Dams'
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The Namibian (Windhoek)
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
Absalom Shigwedha
Windhoek
GOVERNMENT has been urged to build earth dams in the Oshana Region to store rain and floodwater for the dry season.
The appeal was made by Swapo MP Aram Martin in the National Council yesterday.
Martin, the regional councillor for the Oshakati-West in Oshana, said most of the rain and floodwater was currently left to evaporate, without any effort made to store it.
"My Oshana Region received a lot of water through the seasonal floods.
But it is always left to pass and evaporate without any efforts to harvest it, such as in the form of earth dams," said Martin.
He called on the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry to build earth dams in his region so that water can be preserved.
"Whenever we ask them for earth dams, budget constraints are always mentioned," he added.
However, Martin is happy that the Ministry is encouraging and supporting communities in the fight against veld fires, such as by creating firebreaks to prevent veld fires from spreading.
He called on the Ministry to allocate enough money for the prevention of veld fires, which destroy not only grazing but also the country's biological diversity.
He was speaking during debate on the N$948 million allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry in the 2008-2009 National Budget.
Martin also applauded the Ministry for agricultural projects such as the Etunda Irrigation Project in Omusati and Aussenkehr in the Karas Region.
But he said he was disturbed by reports that products from these projects were marketed in South Africa, from where they imported back to Namibia as South African products.
"If this is true, this practice need to be investigated," he said.
He was speaking during debate on the N$948 million allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry in the 2008-2009 National Budget.
Swapo MP Sebastian Karupu from the Kavango Region expressed disappointment with Government's Green Scheme project, which has yet to start in his region.
According to him, some young people in his region were trained for the scheme last year but are sitting idly at home.
Land earmarked for the Green Scheme has been lying unused for the past five years, Karupu said.
"I would like to urge the Ministry to kick off with the Green Scheme projects during this financial year.
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Let us see the N$55 million spent on this scheme," he told the House.
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