Water shortage hits Mongu
By Edwin Mbulo in Mongu
Sun 15 May 2011, 11:30 CAT
MONGU is facing a critical water shortage as only seven out of the 13 boreholes are operational.
Featuring on a special programme on Radio Oblate Liseli on Saturday, Western Water and Sewerage Company acting managing director Best Maichi said the company needs not less than K800 million to carry out a feasibility study to tap water from the Zambezi River.
“Using boreholes is cheaper and faster to execute. We are 25 kilometers from the Zambezi River and it will involve colossal sums of money to pipe water from there. … Tapping water from the Zambezi River is a long-term plan,” Maichi said.
He said the boreholes had been over drawn as out of the 13, only seven were running.
And WWSC commercial manager Collins Liswaniso said the company had received US $2.9 billion about K13.9 billion assistance from the Danish Government for water supply rehabilitation.
“The money would be used to rehabilitate the water lines and boreholes and the works will be carried out by Africa Brothers Cooperation and a Chinese company. We will make sure that the residents of Mongu get water and get connected,” Liswaniso said.
Labels: MONGU, WATER, WESTERN WATER AND SEWERAGE COMPANY
Read more...
Teta nominates MMD officials as water utilities board members
Written by Chibaula Silwamba and Kelvin Tembo
Friday, January 23, 2009 7:04:38 AM
LOCAL government minister Benny Tetamashimba has nominated MMD provincial chairpersons for Western and Central provinces Simasiku Namakando and Boyd Mutonka as board chairperson and board member of Western Water and Sewerage Company and Lukanga Water and Sewerage Company respectively.
But Zambia Water and Sanitation Engineers Allied Workers Union (ZWSEAWU) general secretary Charles Phiri has said
Tetamashimba should not extend the confusion he has created in the councils to water utility companies.
According to a final list of final names of board members of the eight new boards for water utility companies, which indicate the appointing institution and academic qualifications of the appointees, Tetamashimba nominated Namakando as chairperson of Western Water and Sewerage Company.
The list also indicated that Tetamashimba, who is also MMD information and publicity chairperson, nominated Mutonka to the board of Lukanga Water and Sewerage Company. Tetamashimba also nominated opposition United Liberal Party (ULP) national chairperson Clementina Chipeta as a board member for Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company. The ULP, under the leadership of Sakwiba Sikota, campaigned for President Rupiah Banda in the October 30 presidential election.
And former Lukashya MMD member of parliament Bernard Mpundu is vice chairperson for Chambeshi Water and Sewerage Company while former United Church of Zambia (UCZ) Copperbelt presbytery overseer Bishop Committee Njase is new chairperson for Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company.
Tetamashimba also nominated a Mr. T. B. Vundamina of Mufulira as board chairperson for Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company and Morgan Ntantula as a board member of Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company.
Tetamashimba nominated Marthar Judy Evans as vice-chairperson of Eastern Water and Sewerage Company.
Other board chairpersons, whose appointing authority is not indicated, include Mpundu Mwila Shapi (Chambeshi Water and Sewerage Company), Ruth Mvula (Lukanga Water and Sewerage Company), William Nyirenda (Nkana Water and Sewerage Company) Victor Zulu (Eastern Water and Sewerage Company) and Ann Mwanza (Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company).
“The Ministry of Local Government and Housing has confidence in the men and women that have been appointed and in their ability to effectively discharge their responsibilities of providing policy guidance and overall supervision of their water utility companies. This is because they have been appointed on merit after wide consultation and screening to ensure that they met the requisite qualifications,” Tetamashimba stated. “The boards have a challenge of measuring up to the challenge of reducing by half the proportion of the population without access to safe and reliable water supply and proper sanitation by the year 2015.”
And commenting on Tetamashimba’s appointing of new boards for eight water utility companies, Charles Phiri said the dissolutions were welcome but it was not up to Tetamashimba to appoint new board chairpersons.
“It is not up to the minister to appoint the board chairperson and his vice. It is the board members that are supposed to do that. We do not want confusion in water companies,” Phiri said.
He said the tenure of office for the eight boards had expired and Tetamashimba was in order to dissolve them, but political interference should be avoided in the appointment of those boards.
Phiri said the government was a shareholder in the utility companies and did not have the power to appoint board chairpersons.
He said the boards should be allowed to operate autonomously because they were commercial entities.
“Obviously we will see party cadres being appointed as board members who will affect the independence of the water utility companies,” Phiri said.
He said the union would not allow Tetamashimba to extend the confusion he had created in the councils to the water companies. He said the union was not happy with the way Tetamashimba was running the ministry.
“We are going to give the new boards 90 days to see how they are going to operate and we will take the issue to State House because we do not need anymore confusion,” said Phiri.
Labels: BENNY TETAMASHIMBA, BOYD MUTONKA, CHARLES PHIRI, CLEMENTINE CHIPETA, CORRUPTION, MMD, PARASTATALS, SIMASIKU NAMAKANDO, ULP, WESTERN WATER AND SEWERAGE COMPANY, ZWSEAWU
Read more...
Western Water to acquire title deeds
By Nyambe Muyumbana in Mongu
Tuesday September 23, 2008 [04:00]
WESTERN Water and Sewerage Company managing director Mulemwa Akamana has announced that the company is in the process of engaging a lawyer who would acquire title deeds for all its land and property.
In an interview, Akamana said that currently squatters were being allocated land by the traditional authority on the company's well field making it difficult to expand its boreholes.
Akamana complained that it was difficult for the company to chase the squatters from the well field because Mongu council, which was supposed to clear the issue of land boundary, since the company had inherited its entire water infrastructure from it, had failed to intervene.
He said that the Barotse Royal Establishment was not willing to listen to the company but instead it was busy allocating land near the boreholes to the people.
He feared that the water risked being contaminated by the people since some of them were building pity latrines close to the boreholes.
He cited an incident last year where faecal matter was found in the water.
Akamana hoped the lawyer to be contracted would manage to engage the traditional authority and find a lasting solution to the current encroachment by the people on the water company's land.
The company has no title for all its entire property.
He further said that the current problem of squatters encroaching on the company's land had negatively stalled the company's expansion projects on the boreholes.
Akamana further disclosed that the company had however identified other new alternatives, which could be possible well field areas.
He named the new alternative areas as Kasima and Katongo.
Akamana said a hydrology consultant had already been engaged to do the testing of water in the said areas to ascertain whether the water would be consumable and also to determine quantity and quality compared to the current demand.
Labels: TITLE DEEDS, UTILITIES, WESTERN WATER AND SEWERAGE COMPANY
Read more...
