Photo: Contributed
By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Hangala
Namibia and South Africa are urged to protect groundwater and wetlands as part of climate resilience.
The remark was made by Pemmy Majodina, South Africa’s Minister of Water and Sanitation, who was a guest speaker at the third Water Symposium, which was held this week in Swakopmund.
“We must protect our groundwater, it is our bank for the future. We must protect our wetlands and our rivers, they are not wasteland, they are life,” said Majodina.
Her comments come at time Namibia is contemplating on the project involving pilot in-situ leaching operations in the Omaheke Region within the Stampriet Transboundary Aquifer System.
She noted that the two countries share much more than a border, as they share communities, ecosystems, economic interests and transboundary water resources.
Thus, the two countries’ water challenges can only be solved by water cooperation as part of sustainable development and regional resilience.
Namibia and South Africa share a river: the Orange River.
For this, according to Majodina, the two countries share drought and climate.
“What happens in Namibia affects South Africa. What happens in South Africa affects Namibia. That is why collaboration is not a choice,” she stated.
She has also reminded the symposium that climate change is not coming but is here.
“Our droughts are longer. Our floods are stronger. Our rainy seasons are no longer predictable,” noted Majodina.
She called for the reuse of wastewater safely for agriculture and industry at the same time as rainwater harvesting at every school, every church, every clinic.
Moreover, integrating affordable water innovations such as solar-powered boreholes that work in rural villages where there is no electricity.
“Innovation must work for the village, not only for the city. If innovation only works in Windhoek, Cape Town and Johannesburg, it has failed,” noted Majodina.
She also acknowledged the water supply funding gap that is too big for the government alone to carry, saying the private sector needs to step in as a partner.
“We need the Private Sector to come in, not for charity, but for partnership. Collaboration means we stop working in silos. We stop competing. We start building together,” noted the SA Minister.
Speaking at the same event was Namibia’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, Inge Zaamwani, who took stock of the government making use of underground water.
She said, “Water is undoubtedly the most critical resource issue of our time and must therefore remain central to our developmental agenda”.
Namibia keeps tapping into its underground water as rainfall patterns change and seasons get drier.
Last financial year, the Ministry drilled 94 boreholes, rehabilitated 51 boreholes, 137 water supply points and constructed 55 short pipelines.
These interventions were mostly done to supply rural communities and protect rural livelihoods.
Zaamwani has noted that more strategic investments to tap into underground water are also expected to strengthen water supply.
She singled out the Ohangwena II Wellfield (aquifer), inaugurated in 2025, as one of the new important sources for north central Namibia.
She also noted that regions such as Otjozondjupa require an approach that reflects its dispersed settlements, agricultural economy and dependence on groundwater in many areas, highlighting underground water dependence.
She highlighted that borehole development must be informed by reliable investigations, sustainable abstraction limits and regular monitoring.
