Kavango west: Regional leaders in Kavango West have called for urgent intervention by national power and water utilities to address persistent failures relating to both water and electricity. The call was made on Thursday during a meeting to assess service delivery gaps and the impact of outages on communities and institutions, which was attended by the regional council representatives, as well as officials from the Namibia Water Corporation (NamWater), Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) and the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Nored).
According to Namibia Press Agency, Kavango West Regional Deputy Director for Development Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Karl Kandongo, stated that the region's priorities are to restore reliability, connect households, and transition from feasibility studies to construction on long-overdue projects. Kandongo highlighted the significant service delivery challenges faced by communities, which have resulted in recurrent losses, necessitating immediate targeted interventions.
Kandongo reported that while over three-quarters of residents have access to drinking water, major pipeline projects remain stalled despite years of feasibility studies. Boreholes provide much of the water supply, yet many installations are incomplete due to funding constraints. He urged NamWater to "commence actual construction of the major water pipeline instead of further studies."
Electrification coverage in the region remains inconsistent, with power lines often bypassing villages to supply distant schools, leaving many households unconnected. Kandongo criticized the exclusion of local contractors from national procurement processes for rural electrification, which he argued weakens accountability. He advocated for prioritizing electrification at growth points and ensuring fair access for local contractors to enhance responsiveness.
Power reliability remains a critical issue, with the region experiencing frequent and prolonged outages. These disruptions have led to business losses, school disruptions, water pumping failures, and communication breakdowns. Hospitality establishments, retailers, and small enterprises have reported spoiled stock and reduced trading hours, while security services, mortuaries, and detention facilities have raised operational risks linked to unstable electricity supply. Schools have cited disrupted learning and challenges in hostels, and farmers and green schemes have reported production losses.
Kandongo stated that the regional council expects NamWater, NamPower, and Nored to focus on four key areas: increasing development budget allocations in line with regional priorities, decentralizing operations and call centers to improve fault response times, expediting electrification projects to connect households, and implementing the long-delayed water pipeline to stabilize supply.