Ngurare urges Namibians to honour Nujoma through desalination dream

By: Envaalde Matheus

Former deputy executive director at the ministry of Agriculture, Elijah Ngurare, has called on Namibians to honour the late President Sam Nujoma by making his vision of bringing seawater inland through desalination a reality.

Ngurare explained the idea involved extracting water from the sea, purifying it, and distributing it to drought-prone northern regions to ensure water security.

He said that climate change and unpredictable rainfall patterns make desalination important to secure sustainable agriculture and food security.

Ngurare added the northern part of the country has a large population and cannot rely on one water source, which is the Kunene River.

He said rainwater is valuable; however, to ensure a stable supply, the country must follow Nujoma’s vision

“Now that is one of the project he has left us, and we must complete it, namely; let us give effort to bringing water from the sea, cover Kunene region and also assist cover the north with that. 

That water can go to Kavango West-Kavango East and elsewhere. The desalination we are thinking of in the central, is coming to Windhoek and Botswana want to extend from here,” said Ngurare.

He further urged the government to drill boreholes for small-scale farmers, allowing them to irrigate their crops and achieve sustainable food production without relying on rainfall.

“We have been drilling boreholes for communities and livestock, but we must now add to that. We must drill boreholes for food production so that those who have been depending exclusively on rain can produce food and be aided to be able to irrigate and produce food year round,” remarked Ngurare.