Ondjiva – Angolan government is committed to finding the best solutions to definitively resolve the water shortage problem in the southern province of Cunene, said minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges.
Borges said so during the public consultation on structural projects to combat drought in the municipalities of Curoca and Cahama, which took place in the first region, 340 kilometers from Ondjiva.
Solutions were presented to the municipality of Cahama that include the construction of a dam on the Caculuvar River in the Cova do Leão section, with a height of 17 meters and a capacity to store 25 million m³ of water.
The construction of water supply systems for the Communes of Cahama and Otchinjau from the Cova do Leão catchment is also part of the programme.
For the municipality of Curoca, the Executive foresees the construction of a water supply system in the Commune of Oncócua, from the execution of catchment holes, as well as a water supply system for the Commune of Chitado from the catchment of the River Cunene.
The end of the drought in the municipality of Curoca will also involve the rehabilitation of nine small water retention dams.
Minister João Baptista Borges also reiterated government plans to find the best solution, which can be the one that the government has presented or result from the contributions of the Curoca communities, which directly experience the problems of lack of water.
“We didn't bring a finished solution, so the contributions can be used to find the best strategy”, he underlined.
Meanwhile, he said that an in-depth technical and financial evaluation of the proposal presented by the community will be carried out, in order to find the best solution.
He stressed that the next steps have to do with the preparation of the environmental impact study, so that the projects can start next year, after approval by the Executive.
