Justicia Shipena, Annakleta Haikera
The African Development Bank (AFDB) has granted Namibia a loan of N$1.8 billion for its water sector support programme (NWSSP).
Agriculture Minister Calle Schlettwein, made this revelation during the weekend’s celebration of the Samora Machel and Moses ||Garoëb constituencies’ open defecation free status.
The NWSSP is designed to cover critical, urgent water supply infrastructure development, including sanitation interventions prioritised by the Technical Committee of Experts (TCE) supporting the Cabinet Committee on water supply security (CCWSS).
The programme aims to increase access to quality and sustainable water resources, water supply, and sanitation services in both urban and rural sections of the nation. It also aims to solve significant infrastructural and service delivery bottlenecks in the sector.
“It is worth reporting that the Ministry secured a loan from the African Development Bank (AFDB) to a tune of N$1.8 billion, while the Ministry will contribute N$878 million over a period of five years, towards the implementation of the WSSP,” Schlettwein said.
This year’s primary programme objectives are building sanitation facilities in public spaces like schools, clinics and hospitals, as well as constructing trustworthy early warning systems.
He mentioned the government will start the tendering process for the Oshakati and Rundu treatment facilities.
“We will also start the bidding process of Ohangwena wellfield, Ruacana South WSS, Otjombinde WSS, Katima- Kongola WSS Ph 3, King Kauluma-Omutsegwonime WSS, Katima Mulilo- Ngoma WSS Ph3 & 4, Katima Ngoma WSS Reservoir and Iitapa- Okeeholongo WSS.”
Namibia has a long way to go and is not on pace to end open defecation by 2030, according to data from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), with a 0.4% decrease in open defecation-free regions observed between 2000 and 2017.
In light of the fact that 43% of the population defecates in the open, Schletwein advised the nation to find answers to its sanitation problems.
According to Namibia Census Mapping Basic Report 2019–2021, 23% of this population are urban and 65% of this population reside in rural areas.
He applauded the programme’s rollout in Windhoek’s Samora Machel and Moses ||Garoëb constituencies.
“I understand that it is targeted at 1,302 households with 3,448 people in two constituencies and since its inception in Windhoek, the programme has scaled up to eight other towns across the country,” he said.
Schletwein added that, in order to adhere to Namibian conventions and traditions, the Ministry has chosen to adopt a new strategy for the School Led Total Sanitation and Community Led Total Sanitation programmes.
He said all recipients of the Ministry’s programmes and initiatives are required to help provide improved sanitary facilities, as well as access to potable water to rural communities and farmers involved in resettlement.
According to him, the Department of Water Affairs is also planning and carrying out a number of significant projects to improve the infrastructure for the nation’s bulk water resources.
“The draft will be presented to Cabinet committee and will thereafter be submitted to Cabinet for approval and then to Parliament before the end of the current financial year,” he revealed.
He said the Ministry is already wrapping up the N$93 million drilling, installation and restoration of boreholes around the nation.
“The contractor is currently busy connecting additional manifolds and water meter on the pipeline to provide water to the newly identified beneficiaries.”
He explained the Ministry is putting these sanitation and water coverage solutions into practice in conjunction with stakeholders, adding it is important to recognise the importance of stakeholders in the community.
“The eradication of open defecation must be a national agenda and undoubtedly working together is the solution,” Schlettwein concluded.
Kavango East activist Dinyando Thitjo, welcomed the move, calling on the government to provide pit latrines to all villages.
Thitjo also noted the Agriculture Ministry, in 2017, provided two villages in the region, Diyana and Kapako, with pit latrines and people no longer go to the river banks for defecation.
“For them it’s a history because most of the houses have access to pit latrines. I would like the Minister to extend this to villages that are nearby the river, such as Shadipwera, Sandjumu, Rudhiva, Ruwongo, Shipwanana and Mukwe. These areas that are along the river need pit latrines if they can use standard toilets so that they can refrain from using the river banks for defecation.” Thitjo said.
