Pretoria: The Kavango People's Forum has called on the Namibian government to halt NamWater's proposed Kavango Link Pipeline Project, arguing that transferring water from the Kavango River to central Namibia would be unjust, environmentally harmful, and economically unsustainable.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the Kavango Link is a long-term plan aimed at addressing water shortages by transferring water from the Kavango River to central Namibia through a 280-kilometre pipeline and pumping scheme. The forum, together with residents of the Kavango East Region, staged a march and handed over a petition, arguing that the project contradicts government policies governing the Veterinary Cordon Fence (Red Line).
Reading the petition on behalf of the demonstrators, Kavango People's Forum chairperson Patrick Kashera stated it was inconsistent for the government to prohibit livestock and meat from crossing the Red Line while planning to transfer water from the Kavango River to southern Namibia. He emphasized that if products from the north are considered unsuitable for the south, it is inconsistent and unjust to extract the region's most important natural resource for the benefit of southern regions while local communities continue to live in poverty.
The forum urged the government to abandon the pipeline plan and instead pursue alternative long-term water supply solutions. These include investing in large-scale desalination plants along Namibia's coast and pumping desalinated water inland, arguing that the distance to Windhoek is considerably shorter than the proposed Kavango pipeline. Kashera cited countries such as Israel and Saudi Arabia as examples of successful large-scale desalination.
Other proposals include expanding the use of underground water resources, such as aquifers, and investing in rainwater harvesting infrastructure to capture seasonal floodwaters in northern and northeastern Namibia. The forum also called for water-intensive industries and manufacturing plants to be established in the Kavango regions instead of transporting water to central Namibia, saying this would lower infrastructure costs while creating employment and stimulating regional economic growth.
The group further proposed that the government strengthen corporate social responsibility obligations and maximize revenue from foreign mining companies to finance sustainable water infrastructure, including desalination projects. The petition was received by Kavango East Regional Council chairperson Stefanus Sinonge, who said it would be forwarded to the relevant government authorities for consideration.