Kunene will revolt over drought: Iijambo

Kunene will revolt over drought: Iijambo NAMPA

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WINDHOEK



The devastating drought that has gripped the Kunene region for decades poses a threat to Namibia's peace and security unless decisive and lasting mitigating measures are taken, Swanu leader Tangani Iijambo warns.

Iijambo was speaking in the National Assembly on Wednesday, in response to Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) politician Vipuakuje Muharukua's motion for the government to assess the drought situation in the Kunene, ahead of next week's national budget table in order to make special budgetary provision for that region.

He said the time is ripe for the government to respond decisively to address the severe drought in Kunene or risk facing a revolution.

“Wherever there is oppression, there is bound to be resistance,” he said.

He added that “necessity knows no law. When something is necessary, the people will act and the law will be left behind or may not be considered.”

Kunene's residents are faced with a catch-22 situation, lodged between a rock and a hard place, he warned.

“The people of Kunene will be compelled to take action if the government does not intervene sufficiently to their plight. The government knows that people will ultimately take the law into their own hands and that is not desired,” he said.



Dejected



In addressing the devastating drought that has gripped the Kunene as well as in parts of Omusati, Oshana and Oshikoto regions, unity is paramount.

Adding his voice to the debate, mover of the motion, Muharukua painted a bleak picture of the Kunene.

“You have these communities in Kunene north, specifically an area where the Ovahimba live, dejected, drought-stricken [and] dry. The only picture that you can see in that area is bleak, one of death, one of hunger, one of famine,” he said.

He noted that drought in Kunene is not a new thing and not an aspect of life that needs a hand-to-mouth approach [or] an approach of rationing food, fodder, as it is not sustainable.

Fisheries minister Albert Kawana threw his weight behind the motion while noting that the government through the Prime Minister's office is looking into the matter.

“I believe that whenever there is a distress in Namibia which affects our people, be it drought, be it locusts, be it floods, it affects all of us as a nation and therefore it becomes a subject of national interest,” Kawana said.