By: Jeronimo Nghilunanye Kateya
The Kavango West and East region received 22 community boreholes. The boreholes were donated by Reconnaissance Energy Namibia as part of their corporate social responsibility.
The boreholes which were officially handed over at the Epingiro village in the Kavango West region on 14 September 2022 were received by Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Anna Shiweda on behalf of the two regions.
Shiweda indicated that ReconNamibia is a reliable corporate citizen in our endeavor, both in the crocodile-prone villages as well as in the drilling, installation, and rehabilitation of the boreholes in the rural communities in the two regions.
“ReconNamibia has worked closely with the Ministry to make sure that the boreholes they are drilling are according to the government priority list and quality standards,” she remarked.
Shiweda further cautioned the recipients to take ownership of these generous resources which came at the opportune time to augment the limited available government resources.
“I strongly urge all the beneficiary communities to ensure that these boreholes are well maintained at all times, and please do not allow them to be vandalized or the solar panels to disappear,” she cautioned.
She added that “work with our officials on the ground. They have been deployed to your region and assigned to your Constituency and villages with one purpose only, and that is to serve you.”
Besides, the Executive Chairperson and Founder of Reconnaissance Energy Namibia, Craig Steinke stated that upon seeing women carrying buckets of water on their heads, Reconnaissance Energy Namibia has made drilling of community water wells as part of their Environmental Social Governance (ESG).
“Safe and secure access to potable water is a great need for the region,” Steinke indicated.
He further noted the problem of human-wild conflict and the impact it has on the livelihoods of the people of the two regions, particularly those that reside alongside the Kavango river.
“It is extremely disheartening and just heartbreaking to hear that people in the region die of crocodile attacks due to human-wildlife conflict because they depend on the river for water,” he lamented.
The General Manager of Reconnaissance Energy Namibia, Robert Mwanachilenga, pointed out that, being in the business of drilling, it only made sense for them, to answer the call and plea of so many in the region.