Maria David
A SIGNIFICANT stride towards ensuring robust water security for Namibia’s northern regions was made on Thursday with the groundbreaking ceremony for the Oshakati Purification Plant extension.
Oshana Governor Hofni Iipinge, speaking at the event, announced that the new infrastructure will increase the water treatment capacity by an impressive 50,000 cubic metres per day, elevating the plant’s total output to 90,000 m³/day.
This expansion, Iipinge emphasised, aims to ensure a sustainable water supply for urban centres and rural communities across the Oshana, Ohangwena, and Oshikoto regions.
“This will provide the foundation for improved agricultural productivity, health, education, and job creation,” he said.
He added that the initiative reaffirms that the government is listening. That the government is responding. That no Namibian, regardless of where they live, should be left behind.
Iipinge stressed the strategic importance of Oshakati, describing it as a regional hub, sitting at the centre of interconnected canal and pipeline networks. It is the nerve centre of bulk water supply to the northern regions and the gateway to sustainable development for thousands of households, businesses, and farms.
Echoing these sentiments, Oshakati Mayor Leonard Hango said that the expansion of the water treatment plant extends beyond mere engineering.
“It is about dignity. It is about access to a basic human right: clean, safe, and reliable water supply,” he said.
He pointed out that every household that struggles to fill a container, every small business that hesitates to expand, every farmer who prays for rain, are the true beneficiaries of this investment.
Hango said that Oshakati is the gateway of delivery, and they are ready to embrace the responsibility that comes with this.
He elaborated on Oshakati’s remarkable growth, noting its transformation from a town of sand and storms to a hub of trade, education, governance, and innovation.
This growth, he explained, has naturally led to an increased demand for reliable services, especially water.
“The new facility will boost the supply capacity to meet both current and future demand and support local industries, especially agro-processing and construction,” he added.
He said the project will strengthen their resilience during drought years and allow all to restore confidence in public infrastructure and local government planning.
