Access to clean drinking water remains a privilege for many Namibians, with villagers in remote areas faring the worst in most cases. The residents of Mangamba village in eastern Kavango have requested government to provide them with new water pumps, because the current one is old and no longer able to meet their growing demand for water.

Villagers say they have no choice but to use an old pump because the nearest water points are between 15 km and 12 km away. With many of the villagers unemployed, access to clean drinking water is often impossible because they have to fork out N$10 for a 25-litre container of water.

Headman of the village, Mateus Thikoka, says the pump is more than 20 years old. “We have suffered for too long and we have told our councillor to help us. Sometimes our livestock go without water,” Thikoka complained. “This is the third borehole we have drilled, but water levels are currently running low in this borehole, because it is not enough to sustain the people and their animals,” he said.

Principal of the Mangamba Junior Primary School, Frans Ndovu, says learners suffer because of a shortage of water. As a result, the school’s feeding scheme had to be cancelled at times due to the lack of water.
“I have reported the situation in the past, but nothing is being done. This is not good for the children because they are often forced to sit in class without having eaten anything.”

When New Era vi-sited the village, some of the residents told this reporter that they had been sitting at the water point for about three hours waiting to fill up their containers.

“I have to stop all my work at home because I am forced to come and sit at the water point for hours. My family is really suffering,” one of the villagers shouted.

Source: allafrica.com