Mutorwa denies water conflict

Agriculture, water and forestry minister John Mutorwa says Namibia is not embroiled in any battle with the Angolan authorities as far as water use is concerned. Mutorwa this week refuted reports suggesting the Angolan authorities want Namibia to start paying for the water supplied from the Calueque Dam in southern Angola. Responding to a Namibian Sun article, Mutorwa said it was in fact Angola that had changed the scope of the Kunene Transboundary Water Supply Project (KTWSP) agreement which was established as a conveyance system that would supply sufficient potable water from the Oshakati purification plant to the Cunene Province in Angola. The minister, however, confirmed that Namibia's part of the agreement, which was supposed to be implemented between May 2010 and June 2012, would only be completed by December this year. Namibian Sun this week reported that the Namibian authorities were seemingly reneging on a deal with Angola under which the northern regions are receiving free water from Angola's Calueque Dam. Mutorwa said that was not the case. He said the 1926 water agreement between the two countries never made provision for Namibia to receive water from the Calueque scheme at a cost. “The two countries adopted the principle of 'best joint utilisation' in the planning and development of water resources of common rivers. This cooperation has led to Angola conceding rights to Namibia to construct the Calueque Dam and related works in Angolan territory, to be able to draw and convey water from the Kunene River free of charge. Therefore, the historical water use agreements make provisions for sharing of the waters of the Kunene River,” said Mutorwa. It was reported that under the KTWSP agreement that was supposed to be implemented between May 2010 and June 2012, Namibia was supposed to supply purified water to Angola's Cunene Province from Oshakati, where water from Calueque is treated. Experts claimed that delays on the Namibian side had forced the Angolan government to establish the Xangongo Water Supply Scheme to provide sufficient water to its people. Mutorwa said while the two countries were busy implementing the KTWSP, the Angolan authorities opted to develop a new scheme to secure its own water supply. “This resulted in the Southern Angolan Water Supply Scheme starting with the purification plant at Xangongo and pipelines from Xangongo to Ondjiva and eventually to Santa Clara, at the border with Namibia. These developments resulted in changes to the scope of the KTWSP,” he said. According to the Namibian Sun report, Namibia was expected to upgrade its purification plant at Oshakati and expand the existing bulk supply system at Omakango, Omafo and Oshikango. The expectation was that the country would then supply southern towns in Angola such as Ondjiva, Namacunde, Chiede and Santa Clara. Mutorwa said that was a SADC pilot project under its Regional Strategic Water Development Programme and would be financed by the German development cooperation agencies KfW and GIZ.

Mutorwa denies water conflict

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-05

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Mutorwa denies water conflict

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-05

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