/ 30 June 1999

DAM DECISION DAMNED

A FINAL decision on where to construct the Epupa hydropower project is being delayed by the ongoing war in Angola which has prevented officials from Luanda attending a key meeting in Windhoek. Namibia and Angola are already at loggerheads over which site on the Kunene river to choose with the Angolans favouring a smaller dam in the Baynes Mountains, while Namibia wants a dam in the area of the Epupa Falls. Mines and Energy Minister Jesaya Nyamu has said that Angolan government officials have been too preoccupied with the war against Unita to be able to attend scheduled meetings of the Permanent Joint Technical Commission (PJTC) on Epupa. Namibia is adamant that the plant should be built at Epupa Falls, arguing that Baynes is too small, prone to drought and too dependent on Gove. The feasibility report on the scheme said the Baynes site is environmentally and socially more acceptable, and would have less impact on the nomadic Himba communities in the Kunene region.