Muzabwera water scheme a failure, says Simbeya

Muzabwera water scheme a failure, says Simbeya
Written by Emmanuel Kapampa in Mpulungu
Sunday, August 09, 2009 9:20:57 PM

MPULUNGU district planning officer Jonathan Simbeya has said the Muzabwera water reticulation scheme in Mpulungu is a total failure because it has failed to live up to the peoples' expectations.

Briefing a team of evaluators on the Muzabwera water scheme from Care International, Simbeya pointed out that though the water project was well intended, the engineers overlooked one aspect of procuring machinery for the expansion of the water intake at the source, for a steady supply of water in Muzabwera compound.

Simbeya said currently, only three hours of water was supplied in a day to the residents of Muzabwera on a system that was initially meant to supply water on a 24-hour basis.

He outlined that this was because the machinery which was currently used at the source was static, outdated and outmatched by the increase in population in the district.

Simbeya said the machinery was put in place in 1984 to cater for 1,000 people, a sharp contrast to the 44,000 Mpulungu residents which the equipment is forced to supply currently.

Simbeya said because of this situation, the system was overloaded and highly inadequate to supply enough water to residents of Mpulungu.

He said that it was a scandal to experience water problems in Mpulungu district which had a huge expanse of water in Lake Tanganyika.

Simbeya told the evaluators that the remedy to the problem would be for government and the donor community to inject capital in Chambeshi Water and Sewerage Company to enable them procure modern equipment and machinery that would match the demand and adequately supply water for the people of Mpulungu.

He said that even the water kiosks that had been built in Muzabwera were merely white elephants because they did not adequately serve the purpose for which they were intended.

He was however quick to point out that the little water which was supplied in the three hours had in a small way helped to reduce cases of diarrhoea in Muzabwera area because people initially used to draw water directly from the lake.

And D.Washe member Evelyn Mwanza said vulnerable people like the old and those suffering from HIV and AIDS were allowed to draw water from the 26 kiosks in Muzabwera for free.

Mwanza said the Residents Development Committees (RDC) had employed vendors who man the kiosks and charge a figure of K25 per 20 litre container and emphasised the need to improve the water supply at the intake.

She said although people were willing to pay for the service, they were disappointed by the low water supply they got daily.

But some Muzabwera residents connected to the water project dismissed Simbeya's assertions that they received water for three hours a day, saying to the contrary, they only received water for less than 15 minutes per day or none at all.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the residents said the Muzabwera water projected, though constructed in good faith, and could only be best described as a flop, because the local people are not benefiting from it.

They said the 26 water kiosks constructed in the peri-urban compound to serve the 14,000 Muzabwera residents, are just mere decorations and a source of daily conflicts and free for all fights that usually end up at the police station.

They said people in the area were geared to pay for the water service but were disappointed because mostly the water taps were dry and sometimes only produce foam, instead of water.

The Muzabwera water scheme is a multi-million-kwacha water project which was funded by Irish Aid and implemented and coordinated by Care International and Chambeshi Water and Sewerage Company.