USAID donates water trucks
SHONA NGAVA
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has donated eight water tankers to Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and NamWater.
The trucks, which can transport 10 000 litres of water, will be used to supply water to drought-affected Namibians living in rural areas.
Deputy minister Anna Shiweda said the tankers would be useful for providing water to people who really needed it.
“Although water tanker service is considered to be the most expensive method of supplying water to communities, compared to drilling of boreholes, it still remains the most reliable method that is at the disposal of the ministry to supply water to the affected communities that cannot be reached through other water supply methods,” said Shiweda.
The US ambassador to Namibia, Thomas Daughton, said the US government had provided US$1.4 million to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to purchase eight water trucks to help Namwater move clean and safe drinking water.
“The trucks can also be used in normal times to help communities that have been cut off from water for whatever reason,” said Daughton.
The UNICEF representative for Namibia, Micaela Marques De Sousa, said more than half of Namibia’s population did not have access to proper sanitation services.
She added that the trucks might improve the living conditions of some people in the country.
“This support from the UNICEF and USAID comes in to give extra support to families who have been rendered vulnerable by erratic rains, prolonged dry spells and drought across Namibia,” said De Sousa.
Besides the water tankers, water-purifying chemicals and computers were donated for the use of the communities that will benefit from the water trucks.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has donated eight water tankers to Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and NamWater.
The trucks, which can transport 10 000 litres of water, will be used to supply water to drought-affected Namibians living in rural areas.
Deputy minister Anna Shiweda said the tankers would be useful for providing water to people who really needed it.
“Although water tanker service is considered to be the most expensive method of supplying water to communities, compared to drilling of boreholes, it still remains the most reliable method that is at the disposal of the ministry to supply water to the affected communities that cannot be reached through other water supply methods,” said Shiweda.
The US ambassador to Namibia, Thomas Daughton, said the US government had provided US$1.4 million to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to purchase eight water trucks to help Namwater move clean and safe drinking water.
“The trucks can also be used in normal times to help communities that have been cut off from water for whatever reason,” said Daughton.
The UNICEF representative for Namibia, Micaela Marques De Sousa, said more than half of Namibia’s population did not have access to proper sanitation services.
She added that the trucks might improve the living conditions of some people in the country.
“This support from the UNICEF and USAID comes in to give extra support to families who have been rendered vulnerable by erratic rains, prolonged dry spells and drought across Namibia,” said De Sousa.
Besides the water tankers, water-purifying chemicals and computers were donated for the use of the communities that will benefit from the water trucks.
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Namibian Sun
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