A group of concerned farmers from the ||Kharas region protested and handed over a petition to the ||Kharas Regional Council calling for an urgent intervention in the ongoing water crises affecting their communal farmland in the region.

The group of farmers handed over a petition to the chairperson of the council, Gerrit Witbooi, demanding urgent address of the ongoing water crisis affecting communal farmland in rural areas.

The farmers say communities including Poortjie, Bloemhof-Blouwes, Aubkhaus, Groendoring Bethanie Area, Kameelrivier, Itswisis, Lekkerwater, Vals and Arities East have faced water shortages for over a decade due to broken windmills, dry boreholes, damaged pipes and delayed maintenance.

"Windmill and solar pump breakdowns are left unattended for weeks or months, forcing communities to rely on costly water trucks at intervals of up to 2 weeks. Dry boreholes and rusted pipes have not been replaced despite repeated reports. Insufficient services delivery capacity, with only one truck covering vast distances from Karasburg to Asab and no smaller teams to address minor breakdowns. Plastic water tanks are standing idle at the Rural Water offices while households suffer. Restrictions on farmers performing minor repairs, worsening delays and breakdowns."

He added that these failures have affected livestock and crop production, denied families access to drinking water and halted gardening projects aimed at food security. He demanded the following solutions.

"Deployment of additional service teams and vehicles to address breakdowns; installations and repair of solar pumps on existing boreholes to ensure sustainable water supply; installations and repair of solar pumps on existing boreholes to ensure sustainable water supply; cleaning and rehabilitation of strong boreholes currently unused."

Witbooi received the petition.

"We will engage all parties; you need to organise yourself as a committee involving the towns, villages, and settlements you mentioned, and we will meet here at the ||Kharas Regional Council together with the full band of ||Kharas regional councillors, our administrators, staff involved, the Department of Rural Water, and the Office of the Governor."