President Pohamba declares a state of emergency following heavy floods
29th March 2011


Director of Ceremonies
Right Honourable Prime Minister, Comrade Nahas Angula
Honourable Ministers
Esteemed Secretary to the Cabinet, Comrade Frans Kapofi
Distinguished Members of the Press
Ladies and Gentlemen

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to State House this afternoon. I would like particularly like to thank members of the media for accepting my invitation at such short notice.

Our country is, once again experiencing the wrath of Mother Nature in the form of devastating floods. Namibia has been badly affected, particularly the northern part of our country. My Government is concerned about the destructive impact of these forces of nature which has devastated many communities. The natural disaster has also affected economic activities negatively.

Floods especially in the northern parts of our country have caused destruction to homes, schools, clinics, health centres and economic infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

As you might have noticed in both electronic and print media, our people in northern areas are facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions. This could be the worst such flood disaster in recorded history.

As a result, the survival of a large percentage of our population in Namibia is under serious threat. In Oshakati alone, more than five thousand (5000) citizens are in relocation centres. More people are being relocated on a daily basis. Due to the devastating flooding, already we have lost sixty-two (62) citizens to flooding. I and my Cabinet colleagues have discussed the prevailing situation in depth and have consulted with various experts and other stakeholders. After these consultations, I have come to the conclusion, together with my cabinet colleagues, that I declare an emergency situation in the north and north eastern parts of our country. Thus, the necessary interventions must be put in operation to face this emergency.

As a caring Government, it is the duty of the State to ensure that our people do not go hungry. It is against this background that the main aim of our SWAPO Party Government is to achieve food security for our people by ensuring that there is enough staple food in the country.
To this end and following the construction of some grain silos in the northern part of our country, our Government played a major role year in assisting our farmers in plant more. Various assistance schemes were undertaken in several areas of agricultural activities such as the provision of seed subsidies and assistance with ploughing and planting services. We had high hope that, with this increased efforts made by our people, we would not have a shortfall in staple food supplies during 2010/2011 planting season. With the early arrival of the rain, all looked well.

Unfortunately, from the look of things, all our efforts were to an avail as a result of the severe flooding that we are experiencing in our northern areas.

The severe flood situation in the northern, and to a lesser extent northern eastern parts of our country, has had a negative effect on agriculture and agricultural production. Wide-spread crop losses are expected. This will impact negatively on those communities who depend heavily on subsistence farming. As a result, large quantities of cereal will have to be sourced in order to prevent wide-spread hunger.
Another contributing factor to the decline in crop production is the heavy and continuous rains received since last year. This has resulted in water logging and leaching which led to poor germination and stunted growth of the maize, mahangu and other crops. Many fields, especially in the Caprivi, Omusati, Ohangwena and Oshana Regions are submerged.

In addition to the expected heavy losses in crop production, livestock losses are also expected given the fact that grazing areas are flooded. Where grazing is still available, it is in a very poor state as a result of excessive water. This will not be conducive in sustain livestock farming in these areas.

A big number of learners have also been adversely affected by the floods. For example, two hundred and forty-seven (247) schools are closed and more than one hundred thousand (100,000) learners are affected. I am also concerned about health services to our people. About twenty-two (22) clinics can only be accessed by four wheel vehicles.

I am further informed that flood waters have come from Angola in recent days. In addition, more rain has been received in the North and the forecast indicates that the rain may still continue for some time to come. This state of affairs is likely to aggravate the already desperate situation.

It is generally accepted that floods are one of the most destructive natural disasters known to humankind. In most cases, it causes loss of human lives and destruction of infrastructure. It is for this reason that Government resources alone cannot cope with the situation. I therefore, have no option but to call on all our people to work together, to act only in the national interest and to offer assistance to their fellow citizens where it is needed. I also call on the international community to assist our Government in this present crisis situation and its aftermath such as in the rehabilitation of infrastructure destroyed by the floods. In this regard, I must single out roads, bridges, schools and health facilities as toping the priority list.

Our citizens, development cooperation partners and other stakeholders are invited to work closely with the Office of the Prime Minster as the central coordinating unit of the Government for disaster management.

It is necessary that Government acts immediately and that the necessary steps are taken timeously to avert a crisis which could grow out all proportions.

It is in this connection that Cabinet has mandated the Office of the Prime Minister together with the Secretary to Cabinet who is the Chairperson at the technical level to ensure that everything is put in place to address the situation. Thirty (30) million Namibian Dollars has been authorised to immediately attend to this emergency situation.

Once more, I wish to express my appreciation and gratitude to you all for accepting my invitation.

I thank you.