Cry me a river

Kenya Kambowe





· Online classes grind to a halt

· Patients unable to take pills

· Businesses discard perishables

· No haircuts in barbershops



RUNDU

Battered Rundu has emerged from this week’s power blackout and water disconnection with deep wounds, punctuated by students missing online classes and, gravely, patients being unable to take their pills.

Small businesses such as barbershops, an important cog in economic survival at the town, also had to halt operations as they had no electricity to operate hair clippers and other equipment.

The nearby Kavango River became a hive of activity, as many residents flocked there to fetch infested water – risking their health and attacks by wild animals.

The town was without electricity due to a faulty NamPower substation. This meant that, without electricity, NamWater was unable to pump water to the town’s residents.

The impact of the lack of water and electricity was severely felt by schools, clinics, households and businesses as they depend heavily on the two resources to operate effectively.

Just a week ago, Rundu went an entire week without water because the town council did not have money to buy units from NamWater.

This week, the situation was so dire some thought it would manifest into loss of lives.

Clinics bear brunt

According to Kavango East health director Timea Ngwira, the Rundu State Hospital was not severely affected as it has its own water tanks and a generator.

However, local clinics without such equipment bore the brunt of the situation.

A nurse at Ndama Clinic told Namibian Sun that water from the river was delivered there to help it run its operations.

“The driver who brought us the water told us that we should use the water in the toilets and not consume it as it was directly from the river,” the source revealed.

The source said the situation saw nurses unable to carry out their jobs as prescribed, making reference to medication that needed to be administered - which could not happen because of the lack of water.

“Some medication needs to be taken in your presence so that you see how a patient reacts to it. This could not happen,” she said.

Nightmare

Both schools and tertiary institutions were affected, specifically university students taking online classes. Unable to charge devices like cellphones and laptops, learning ground to a halt, while a number of schools had to release learners earlier in fear of compromising their health.

Known to be overcrowded, teachers from various Rundu schools said releasing learners earlier was a call made to save lives.

“We could not teach learners the whole day because they need to drink water and use the toilet, which was impossible,” a teacher told Namibian Sun.

Meanwhile, businesses with generators, or which could afford to buy or rent one, did not feel the pinch as much as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), many of which had to close their doors, with owners left on tenterhooks about when business would be restored.

Well-known businessman Nelson Luis told Namibian Sun that this week was a nightmare for business people in the town.

He said people were reluctant to do shopping as there was no guarantee on how long the town would be without electricity.

Meanwhile, businesses experienced severe losses as the days went by because food items such as meat and dairy products spoilt and needed to be discarded.

“It was very bad. One had no water and had to rely on the river. Our fridges could not be connected to our generators, which resulted in things getting defrosting and customers were reluctant to buy such items,” he said.

“One day without electricity was still fine as one could use ice blocks to stop things from spoiling, but after two to three days, it got worse and there was no other option but to throw food away.”

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