South Africa and Namibia launched a five-day working visit in Swakopmund to advance transboundary water management, climate resilience, and infrastructure investment.
South African Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina is undertaking a working visit to Namibia from 10 to 14 November 2026 to strengthen regional cooperation on transboundary water resources and improve water security, as reported by the South African Government News Agency.
Majodina delivered a keynote address at the third Namibia Regional Water Symposium in Swakopmund. The event ran from 10 to 13 November 2026 under the theme “Ensuring Water Security Through Innovation, Collaboration, Climate Resilience and Responsible Water Stewardship”. The symposium brings together youth, industry representatives, academia, development partners, water sector specialists, and government officials to debate answers to the water security hurdles confronting the Southern African area.
Majodina spoke at the symposium. She said both nations must protect shared underground water resources and natural basins.
“We must protect our groundwater, it is our bank for the future. We must protect our wetlands and our rivers, they are not wasteland, they are life,” said Majodina.
The discussions in Swakopmund coincided with Namibia’s consideration of pilot in-situ leaching operations in the Omaheke Region within the Stampriet Transboundary Aquifer System. Majodina said that because the two countries share weather patterns, climate impacts are mutual.
“What happens in Namibia affects South Africa. What happens in South Africa affects Namibia. That is why collaboration is not a choice,” Majodina said.
“Our droughts are longer. Our floods are stronger. Our rainy seasons are no longer predictable,” she added.
The PWC functions as a specialized body established by both nations to provide guidance regarding the management and exploitation of shared water assets, working alongside organizations like the Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM).
Inge Zaamwani addressed the symposium. “Water is undoubtedly the most critical resource issue of our time and must therefore remain central to our developmental agenda,” Zaamwani said.
Zaamwani addressed the symposium by outlining Namibia’s reliance on underground water as rainfall patterns shift. She also highlighted the Ohangwena II Wellfield, an aquifer inaugurated in 2025 as one of the new important sources for north-central Namibia, while noting that regions such as Otjozondjupa require an approach reflecting dispersed settlements, an agricultural economy, and groundwater dependence.
On Friday, 13 November 2026, Majodina and Zaamwani visited Akoande in Namibia’s Oshikoto Region. Department spokesperson Wisane Mavasa said the ministers inspected a drought-relief support program financed by South Africa through the Africa Renaissance Fund and implemented by Rand Water.
Majodina addressed funding gaps for water supply infrastructure. She urged private sector participation during her symposium remarks and said that if innovation only works in specific major urban centers, it has failed.
“We need the Private Sector to come in, not for charity, but for partnership. Collaboration means we stop working in silos. We stop competing. We start building together,” Majodina said.