- This is as farmers fear a repeat of the 2019 drought
- Department of Water Affairs allays fears
- Cattle have started getting stuck in the lake
Authorities have allayed fears that farmers around Lake Ngami may face a repeat of the 2019 drought which followed the drying up of the water source. This as days go by with water levels in the lake continue to dwindle, yet there is no sign of flood waters coming down the Kunyere River which feeds Lake Ngami.
But there is no need to panic, says the Department of Water Affairs. The department’s Water Resource Engineer Tshidiso Mokgwaela has revealed that the flood is currently coming down the Xudum rivers, before flowing into the Kunyere which will then flood Lake Ngami.
He said they anticipate the waters to reach the lake in 49 days, adding that the water is currently travelling at a speed of 5.4 km in 5 days. Assuming that the current water flow situation remains the same, Mokgwela said the water is then expected to reach the Lake in 7 weeks from now.
“The water would have been travelling at a high speed however it is delayed by pools which it has to fill up along the way,” Mokgwaela noted.
Farmers’ fears are not without any basis as already getting stuck in the mud trying to reach the water deep in lake, a vivid reminder of the 2019 disaster in which thousands of cattle got trapped and died as a result.
During the prolonged dry spell of Lake Ngami, pastoral farmers had adapted to rearing their livestock in the dry land and relying on boreholes to water them. Things however changed when Lake Ngami started flooding again in 2011, and with water everywhere they abandoned the boreholes.
Mothophantsi Motlhabane, one of the farmers whose cattle post is in the proximity of Lake Ngami revealed that they have started to witness cattle getting trapped in the mud as the amount of water in the lake continues to decline.
“Most of us are already panicking as the situation looks bad. Sray cattle mostly found around the lake are moving up and down in search of water, some are already trapped,” Motlhabane told this publication.
He revealed that a number of hippos are also crowded in the available water which makes it dangerous for a farmer to get in and save the trapped cattle.
Motlhabane who has since admitted that the over reliance on the lake by farmers was not good, adding that most of their boreholes were destroyed by the lake when it first flooded in 2012 after going dry for years.
He has since urged farmers to form syndicates and construct drill boreholes as back up during hydrological drought seasons.
Nhabe Agricultural Management Association Legothwana Cell committee Chairperson, Kazehepa Ndjarakana who is also a farmer around the area concurred that the situation of late is worrisome. In his recent visit to the lake Ndjarakana revealed that he spotted around 4 cattle carcasses which were trapped and died in the mud.
“If the lake does not flow in the next two weeks I fear that the 2019 situation will most certainly repeat itself,” Ndjarakana warned.
For his part, Dr Odirile Thololwane of the Department of Veterinary Services said their department has not yet received any reports from farmers at the lake about the looming disaster.
He however revealed that as a back-up measure for incase the lake does not receive water; the department has drilled two borehole within the Lake Ngami area to assist farmers.
“I believe the boreholes are still functional as we have not received any reports of break downs from farmers. The boreholes were drilled in 2019 to relief farmers from the previous hydrological drought,” Dr Thololwane revealed.
