Public trust depends on real service delivery, PM says

Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare has warned that Namibia's progress in expanding access to water and sanitation will mean little if infrastructure is not properly completed, maintained and put into operation.

Speaking at the commemoration of Africa Public Service Day in Swakopmund last week, Ngurare said: "We recognise these achievements, but we must not equate completion of activities with service delivery," he said. "A drilled borehole that remains unequipped does not yet deliver water to the people. Infrastructure without maintenance, accountable ownership and community participation cannot provide a sustainable public service."

He argued that government must strengthen every stage of project implementation, from planning and budgeting to procurement, contract management, supervision and maintenance, warning that public confidence depends on tangible results rather than announcements.

"The credibility of government depends not on what we announce, but on what we deliver as a government," he said.

Ngurare further urged public officials to intervene sooner when projects begin falling behind schedule instead of responding only after problems become crises.

"The credibility of the State is experienced through the reliability of the service that we provide," Ngurare said. "It is experienced when a child can attend school without sacrificing dignity; when a clinic has safe water; when a rural household no longer waits for a tanker; and when infrastructure is repaired before a temporary disruption becomes a crisis."

Echoing President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, he said: "We are too few for any Namibian to be left without clean, reliable and potable water or dignified sanitation."

Failures

The prime minister's remarks come as the country makes progress in expanding access to water and sanitation.

Access to safe drinking water now stands at 91.4%, while 102 boreholes were drilled during the 2025/26 financial year, with 87 completed.

Government also commissioned 53 boreholes and constructed 2 120 sanitation facilities nationwide.

Yet Ngurare conceded that these achievements mask persistent failures affecting thousands of Namibians, particularly in rural and peri-urban communities. He revealed that 45 suitable boreholes remain unequipped, preventing communities from benefiting from completed drilling projects. "Some communities still depend on weekly water tanker deliveries because groundwater is saline and low-yielding. This must be addressed with urgency," he said.

"Sanitation projects at schools, clinics and public places have been affected by procurement delays, contractor non-performance, site abandonment and unresolved responsibility for operation and maintenance," he added.

Rather than describing these as technical shortcomings, Ngurare said they reflected failures within public institutions. "These are not merely engineering challenges; they are institutional challenges."

Ngurare said government's focus has to shift from emergency responses towards long-term resilience by investing in rainwater harvesting, groundwater management, desalination technology and climate-smart infrastructure.

He highlighted the recently launched N$2.1 billion Erongo Sunam Desalination Project as an example of the type of investment needed to strengthen the country's future water security. "Resilience requires us to maintain what we build and to prepare before crisis strikes."