Govt cannot keep fixing what you destroy – Schlettwein
Agriculture and land reform minister Calle Schlettwein told the residents of Olumpelengwa village in the Omusati Region that government cannot keep replacing damaged or stolen boreholes as it has other needy communities to provide for.
Last Wednesday, a visibly irritated Schlettwein told a crowd that government spends a lot of money on constructing farming infrastructure and providing access to clean water to serve needy communities and relieve them of travelling long distances in search of water.
“We are trying very hard with limited financial resources to bring water to communities desperate for water, just to see that a week later solar pumps are stolen... A community that has been suffering for years only [benefits] for a week and [then] they are back to where they were before. When we ask what happened, no one knows anything,” he fumed.
This behaviour, the minister said, shows that there is very little appreciation for the infrastructure put in place for communities.
“I can’t believe that a borehole, put [next to a villager’s house] with solar pumps and solar panels, there is no one who realises that someone goes there with a grinder, opens the borehole and takes out the pump and steals everything. I don’t believe that.”
Deal with them
Schlettwein further applauded traditional authority leaders who support that much needs to be done to protect infrastructure.
“We must catch these thieves and deal with them. And we will only do that if we work together. If we build infrastructure here and it is stolen, we will not come back here again because there are others who need it more desperately,” he said.
It is the community’s responsibility to look after what is provided to them and that the infrastructure is maintained, he added.
The ministry has spent a total of N$23.8 million on the development of farm infrastructure.
The main purpose of such development, he said, is to improve the social and economic status of people through agriculture production, thus enhancing their livelihoods.
“It is with this conviction and determination that we applaud the Namibia-Germany cooperation and the entire European community for partnering with Namibia in these very important efforts that bring development closer to our people,” Schlettwein said.
Last Wednesday, a visibly irritated Schlettwein told a crowd that government spends a lot of money on constructing farming infrastructure and providing access to clean water to serve needy communities and relieve them of travelling long distances in search of water.
“We are trying very hard with limited financial resources to bring water to communities desperate for water, just to see that a week later solar pumps are stolen... A community that has been suffering for years only [benefits] for a week and [then] they are back to where they were before. When we ask what happened, no one knows anything,” he fumed.
This behaviour, the minister said, shows that there is very little appreciation for the infrastructure put in place for communities.
“I can’t believe that a borehole, put [next to a villager’s house] with solar pumps and solar panels, there is no one who realises that someone goes there with a grinder, opens the borehole and takes out the pump and steals everything. I don’t believe that.”
Deal with them
Schlettwein further applauded traditional authority leaders who support that much needs to be done to protect infrastructure.
“We must catch these thieves and deal with them. And we will only do that if we work together. If we build infrastructure here and it is stolen, we will not come back here again because there are others who need it more desperately,” he said.
It is the community’s responsibility to look after what is provided to them and that the infrastructure is maintained, he added.
The ministry has spent a total of N$23.8 million on the development of farm infrastructure.
The main purpose of such development, he said, is to improve the social and economic status of people through agriculture production, thus enhancing their livelihoods.
“It is with this conviction and determination that we applaud the Namibia-Germany cooperation and the entire European community for partnering with Namibia in these very important efforts that bring development closer to our people,” Schlettwein said.
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