KEETMANSHOOP-The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources, as part of its Constitutional mandate, recently undertook visits to the //Kharas and Hardap regions in order to exercise oversight over the management and operational performance of the two areas' natural resources, including mining, energy and agriculture.
The areas included were, amongst others, the Hyphen Green Hydrogen project in the green hydrogen energy sector, DebMarine Namibia in the diamond mining sector and Agricultural projects in the green schemes.
The visits further have the aim to determine whether these projects are operating in accordance with national laws, environmental standards, and the principles of local content and beneficiation, and to evaluate their contributions to job creation and economic development, as well as their impacts on local communities.
In his contribution, //Kharas regional council chairperson, Gerrit Witbooi, bemoaned the poor service delivery from the Rural Water Supply Directorate, which falls under the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
"It is quite disheartening to find people in our region's rural areas waiting for access to clean drinking water for long periods due to public servants not doing their work and this is unacceptable", said the politician who also serves as Keetmanshoop Rural constituency councillor.
Witbooi continued, "Why should it take months to repair trucks transporting this live commodity, which is also a basic human right, to affected communities and then requested the committee members to address this challenge at the national level.
When explaining the powers of the committee, chairperson Tobie Aupindi warned stakeholders to become responsible for their duties and functions.
"If we are not satisfied with your reporting and need additional information, this committee has the right to subpoena such persons to explain themselves at the National Assembly," he emphasised.
In his contribution, Albertus Engelbrecht, Deputy Director for the Directorate of Land Reform and Resettlement at the agriculture ministry, informed stakeholders present that the line ministry has so far acquired more than 20 000ha of land from willing, selling farm owners at a cost of close to N$20 million for the development of the Neckartal dam irrigation schemes.
"Challenges experienced so far in the process include the unwillingness of the remaining farm owners to sell land identified for irrigation, willing owners who want government to buy the farm in whole whilst only parts of it are suitable for the irrigation project," he explained.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
-sklukowski@nepc.com.na
