Namibia pins water hopes on rivers at its borders

A report compiled by a technical committee on water has recommended that Namibia's hope lies in rivers at the country's borders.

There are four major rivers - Orange River, Kavango River, the Zambezi River and the Kwando River - on the border of Namibia.

The committee's terms of reference are to urgently address the water security in the most effected regions in the country.

According to the report submitted Monday to the agriculture minister John Mutorwa in Windhoek by the Cabinet committee on water supply security, rivers or the ocean could be Namibia's long term water solutions.

Addressing the media before submitting the report, Pedro Maritz, one of the water technical committee said pumping water from these rivers and the ocean is a massive exercise.

The country, Maritz said, has reached a point where water consumption is outstripping supply. And hence the need for long-term solutions.

"Both are massive operations - but we will have to do that to sustain the long-term water supply of Namibia," he said.

Namibia has been, for the past three years, suffering a devastating drought that has left most of the major dams dry, while others are at their lowest level ever.

Major cities like Windhoek have come up with several water-saving measures to preserve water until the rainy season comes. Endit