Ondjiva - Angolan head of State João Lourenço reiterated Monday the government’s permanent commitment to launch structuring programmes to reduce the impact of the drought in the provinces of Cunene, Namibe and Huíla, in the southern region of the country.
The pledge was made at the end of the inauguration of the Cafu water catchment system, with a 160-kilometer open-air canal, in the Cunene province.
The Head of State said that the goal is to ensure the country's balanced development and reduce regional asymmetries.
In the specific case of Cunene, he said that there are projects underway in the fields of energy and water, crucial for development.
He predicted the construction of a satellite city and 200-house project, which will contribute to the change the lives of local populations.
Speaking to reporters, João Lourenço referred to the construction, in record time, of a new hospital due to the fire that struck the Ondjiva hospital unit.
The president described the inauguration of the Cafu project as “a victory over the suffering of the populations” and the beginning of a broad programme to benefit the drought victims in the provinces of Cunene, Namibe and Huila.
According to João Lourenço, the system implemented in Ombadja will cover several municipalities, with priority to the most populated and drought-hit Cunene province.
He said he hopes that the project will bring about a profound transformation of the habits of the people of Cunene, essentially focused on grazing, hoping that the province in the south of Angola will be much better in the next five years.
The Cafu pipeline is the first of a batch of five projects by the Angolan government created as part of the programme of structural actions to combat drought in that region, which will benefit 235,000 people in the districts of Ombadja, Cuanhama and Namacunde.
Estimated at 44.3 billion kwanzas, the project will befit 250,000 animals and the irrigation of 5,000 hectares of agricultural fields.
The canal construction contract was decided after a visit by the President of the Republic to Cacimbas (water reservoirs) in Ombala Yo Mungo, municipality of Ombadja, in May 2019, at the time affected by a severe drought.
In this system, metallic structures were installed for the suction chamber and water intake area, the electrical substation building, with three generator sets with a capacity of one megawatt and a one-dimensional reservoir, in addition to solar panels capable of generating 1.5 megawatts of energy.
The project has an open canal, with a length of about 160 km.
The main canal is 47 km long, from Cafu station to Ombala yo Mungo, and two others that connect the municipalities of Ndombondola (55 km) and Namacunde (53 km).
The project has 30 chimpacas (water reservoirs), 100 meters in length, 50 meters in width, five to six in depth and with a water storage capacity that varies from 25,000 to 30,000 cubic meters.
