03 Sep 2019

Assistant Minister of Basic Education, also Member of Parliament for Ngami, Mr Thato Kwerepe says it will take time to find a solution for entrapped Lake Ngami cattle since the lake is under custody of different departments and organisations.

Mr Kwerepe made the remarks addressing Sehithwa residents in a kgotla meeting on September 2.

He therefore encouraged farmers to move surviving cattle away from Lake Ngami to their cattleposts to avoid further loss of cattle.

That followed concerns from residents who said cattle entrapped in the muddy Lake Ngami were dying at an alarming rate as the lake was drying.

Ngamiland region is experiencing a dry spell in its rivers since the Okavango Delta did not receive enough floods from its Angolan counterpart.

Further, Mr Kwerepe appreciated some farmers who heeded the earlier call when they were advised to move their cattle from around Lake Ngami when the lake showed signs of drying.

When commenting, a Sehithwa resident, Mr Gaetime Bikitshane said the situation of drought that led to the drying of Lake Ngami should be treated as a matter of emergency.

Mr Bikitshane also said cattle that had been trapped by mud in the drying lake needed to be rescued as a matter of urgency before the farmers’ loss worsened.

Another resident, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama also said the drought that caused loss of cattle at Lake Ngami was a disaster that ought to be treated urgently, so that farmers did not lose more of their cattle.

Mr Hikuama said farmers were incurring losses that would render them poor.

Also, he was of the view that government should explore other alternatives to salvage the remaining cattle by providing them with drinking water if equipping boreholes was a long process. ends