DEPUTY prime minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah last week visited the Oshana region to familiarise herself with progress made on the government's programme to construct earth dams.
She visited Okaku village in the Okaku constituency, accompanied by Oshana regional governor Elia Irimari and constituency councillors to identify areas earmarked for the construction of earth dams.
In an interview with the Oshana region's Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Nandi-Ndaitwah said one of the government's main targets is to invest in economic sectors, such as agriculture.
"These are sectors that particularly create jobs for our people, including the youth. Agriculture is one sector we are paying special attention to - both for livestock and crop production," she said.
"That is why the government has decided to put up earth dams in some areas that will be able to collect water during the rainy season," she said.
According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, water from these earth dams will be used by communities throughout the year for their livestock and for people to establish gardens.
"I am here to look at the identified places earmarked for earth dams. At Okaku specifically there are two areas which have been identified already," she said.
She also visited the region to see how the construction of the earth dams programme could be kick-started.
"The whole idea is to make sure everything goes well by ensuring that the programme starts immediately when the rain stops," she said.
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Oshana Regional Council chairperson Andreas Uutoni said the Oshana region's dream is to have at least two earth dams per constituency.
The region has 11 constituencies and 174 900 residents, according to the regional council's website.
Uutoni said the region does not receive enough money from the government through the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform for water provision.
He said the regional council currently has a budget of N$15 million for water provision.
"That is the money we have in our kitty, but dividing this amount between constituencies, we have realised that each constituency would only get N$1,1 million," Uutoni said.
He said with the N$1,1 million they want to establish two earth dams, but have been advised by the Directorate of Planning that this may not be possible.
"That's why we are now consulting people so we can come up with two earth dams per constituency," Uutoni said.
He said the regional council also wants to leave funds to procure water pipes to be used to take water to different villages.
"The issue of water in the region is affecting many communities, and we want to provide earth dams for people and animals to have water," he said.
Uutoni said the regional council would revise its plans to ensure they meet communities' demands by providing potable water.
