STAFF WRITER
Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare has called for greater investment, innovation and private-sector participation in Namibia’s water and sanitation sector, saying the country must find ways to secure water for future generations.
Speaking at the opening of the first session of the 4th Junior National Council in Windhoek on Monday, Ngurare said achieving universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene would require more than government action.
“The government therefore carries a continuing responsibility to plan, invest and implement with urgency. But achieving universal access will require more than the government acting alone,” he said.
Ngurare said it requires cooperation among national government, regional councils, local authorities, communities, development partners, the private sector and civil society.
Ngurare said the investment challenge extends beyond building infrastructure to maintaining it, encouraging innovation, conserving water and ensuring responsible use.
“It requires investment in infrastructure, but equally in maintenance, innovation, conservation and responsible use,” he said.
The prime minister’s remarks come as Namibia targets an increase in household access to potable water from 90.75% to 94.8% by 2030, while basic sanitation access is targeted to rise from 57.15% to 64.2%.
The targets are contained in the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6), which identifies improved access to potable water and sanitation as a national development priority under its Human Development and Community Resilience pillar.
Ngurare said the government had committed to expanding water-supply infrastructure in urban, peri-urban and rural communities, scaling up sanitation coverage and strengthening coordination in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector.
He also stressed the need to keep water affordable for poor and vulnerable households.
But the prime minister said Namibia must look beyond the immediate challenge of supplying water.
“We must ask not only: How do we provide water today? We must also ask: How do we secure water for tomorrow?” he said.
He challenged stakeholders to consider how Namibia can make communities more resilient to drought, reduce unnecessary water losses and deploy technology and innovation more effectively.
“How do we reduce unnecessary water losses? How do we deploy technology and innovation more effectively?” Ngurare asked.
He also questioned how sanitation systems could be made suitable for the different realities across the country.
Ngurare used the Junior National Council platform to encourage young Namibians to view the country’s water and sanitation challenges as opportunities to develop solutions.
“Some of the solutions Namibia will require over the coming decades may emerge from people sitting in this Chamber today,” he said.
He said some young Namibians could become engineers developing more efficient water systems, scientists working on water purification or climate resilience, and entrepreneurs developing affordable sanitation solutions.
“Another may become an entrepreneur who develops an affordable sanitation solution,” Ngurare said.
He said Namibia needed young people who could identify problems and help develop solutions.
“Our country needs young people who do not only identify what is wrong, but who are prepared to help imagine what can be done differently,” he said.
The theme of the Junior National Council is “Towards Universal Access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for Every Namibian Child.”
Ngurare said inadequate access to water and sanitation has consequences beyond basic infrastructure.
“When access to water, sanitation and hygiene is inadequate, the consequences extend far beyond inconvenience. They affect health. They affect education. They affect dignity. They affect gender equality. They affect economic opportunity,” he said.
He said water and sanitation should therefore not be viewed only in terms of pipes, boreholes, reservoirs and toilets.
“It is fundamentally a discussion about the kind of society we want to build,” he said.
Ngurare acknowledged that gaps remain despite progress made since Independence.
“There are still communities where reliable access to safe water is difficult. There are schools and households where sanitation infrastructure remains inadequate,” he said.
He added that distance, drought, infrastructure constraints and population growth were placing pressure on available water resources.
“These realities are particularly significant in a country such as ours, where water is scarce and where climate variability increasingly tests the resilience of our communities,” he said.
He said solutions must take into account the different circumstances of communities across Namibia.
“A solution that works in one community may not necessarily work in another,” Ngurare said.
TURN SOCIAL MEDIA INTO BUSINESs
Vice Chairperson of the National Council, Emma Tangi Muteka, delivering the vote of thanks, also highlighted the economic opportunities available to young people through social media.
She said young Namibians could use digital platforms to advertise businesses, sell products, promote talent and build brands.
“Your generation has something incredibly powerful: a platform,” Muteka said.
“You can advertise a business, sell your products, promote your talent, build a brand, become a content creator, educate thousands of people, advocate for a cause, create employment opportunities and even turn an idea that started in your bedroom into a real business.”
Muteka said social media should not be viewed only as entertainment.
“Social media is not only for entertainment; it can be a classroom, a marketplace, a newsroom and a platform for change,” she said.
She, however, cautioned young people against confusing popularity with meaningful leadership.
“But remember this: followers are not the same as leadership, and going viral is not the same as making an impact,” Muteka said.
She urged young people to use their platforms to promote businesses, educate others and create solutions.
“If you are going to be a creator, create solutions. If you are going to use your platform, use it to educate, inspire, build businesses, promote your communities and speak about issues that truly matter,” she said.
Muteka said Namibia needed a generation prepared to move beyond identifying problems.
“Namibia does not need a generation that only tells us what is wrong. We need a generation brave enough to say, ‘Here is the problem, and here is what we are going to do about it.’”
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