(NYASATIMES) Water crisis hit hard in Blantyre City

Water crisis hit hard in Blantyre City
By Nyasa Times
Published: June 15, 2009

Water supply has run out in most parts of Malawi’s commercial city, Blantyre and this has put lives of hundreds of thousands of people’s lives in danger and risk of cholera besides other water borne diseases.

The situation according to our investigations has reached alarming levels in the city’s five largest and populous Ndirande, Mbayani, Bangwe/BCA, Chilomoni and Zingwangwa townships as people have entered their fifth day without any hope of water.

A snap shot conducted by Nyasa Times throughout the weekend shows that young girls and women have been forced to take the risk of travelling long distances during the night to scavenge water from whatever source.

In Ndirande, a township with an estimated population of 300 thousand residents, the only source of hope is the Muluzi borehole that was drilled seven years ago at the magnificent Ndirande Hill Secondary while those staying in Goliyo area and the surrounding places are banking hopes on unhygienic Nasolo stream.

Residents in other townships are also all over looking for whatever could be seen as running water. In worst case scenario in some area around Soche East exact cartographic identity withheld for ethical reasons, people are drilling water from broken under sewer pipe.

An official at the Blantyre Water Board refused to give an official comment saying that “if you give reasons you are suspected to be an opposition person who does not wish the present government well. Saying the truth is very costly because you will find that Mr. George Mtawali or Mr. Ngalande of Newlands will cut my throat or i’ll lose my job.”

The consumer activist John Kapito of Cama recently told Capital FM radio that the situation is bad and described Malawi “worse than Zimbabwe.”

Nyasa Times reporter had time to talk a few hospitals finding out what the five days without water meant to their operations at each individual hospital; the medical doctors were unanimous in saying that it has cost them lives because most operations could not take place without water.

The water crisis has also affected industrial production because manufacturing becomes difficult and unhygienic without water.

Turning to Blantyre water board management seems completely overwhelmed by the problem because they are now in total denial to the embarrassment of President Bingu Mutharika who now has all necessary instruments including financial support from foreign banks.

“Now that the president has majority in parliament, we hope he will crack the whip on all non-performing boards and managers. Malawi has very experienced persons in water management and some are anchoring huge water industries abroad, President Mutharika should no longer retain people because they are blue eyed or blue supporters because the problem of water is for everyone,” said Zebron Machekacheka a young executive working for one of the banks in the city.

“The only good thing that BWB has done for the past five years has been providing vehicles to ruling DPP for the youths by the deputy regional governor of the south Macdonald Solomon and other functionaries; otherwise management at BWB stopped performing long time ago,” lamented Alfred Banda a member of the DPP youth wing whose business has also suffered because of shortage of water.

Water like electricity is now an essential that has become very scarce to access in city of Blantyre; but if you assess the visibility of the two institutions in terms of outright extravaganza judged by the 4×4 type of vehicles; you cannot travel two kilometres without being overtaken by a vehicle from either of the two parastatals.