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| Walk for water (file) |
The government of Tanzania
yesterday declared that a total of 88 major water projects dating back to 2010
are stalled in various parts of the country, blaming poor management and
unscrupulous engineers for the situation.
Speaking here yesterday, the Minister
for Water, Makame Mbarawa, unveiled a plan to revive the projects undertaken
between 2010 and 2013 but have not produced a drop of water despite consuming
billions of shillings of taxpayers’ money.
The clearly annoyed Minister scathed
past managements and engineers that spent vast sums of government money without
achieving intended results.
Officiating at the inauguration of a
water supply project in Nghong’onha ward in Dodoma city, he said the government
would not entertain such shoddy work anymore.
The project worth over Sh 331 million
will benefit an estimated 11,800 people, implemented from July 2018 to May 2019
under the sponsorship of the German government.
The Minister stated that the project
was first designed and implemented in 2013 but did not produce water. “It is
shameful that we have taken six years to bring water services to people simply
due to unfaithful engineers and managers who were working on the project,” he said.
There are numerous such projects
countrywide that did not produce water with the budgeted funds completely
spent, he pointed out, emphasizing that the government intention is to ensure
they are restarted and implemented at low cost to bring services closer to
people.
Mbarawa thanked the German government
for the support, noting that it will reduce the amount of money people used to
spend on water in the past.
Before the projects was carried out,
the main water source for Nghong’onha community was sold by vendors where the
price varied from Sh 250 to Sh 500 (0.11 - 0.22USD) per 20 litres of water depending on the
season.
With the inaugurated water project, the
residents will pay Sh 25 per 20 litres, reducing the burden for households,
particularly for women.
Speaking at the inauguration, Vera
Rosenhal, the Senior Policy Officer in charge of East Africa in the German
Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation, noted that the
purpose of the water supply project in Nghong’onha is to enhance the livelihood
and well-being of some 10,500 people in the area.
“This is another success story in the
relationship between Tanzania and Germany, and we look forward to further
engagements,” she said, reiterating that it is the aim of the German government
to support development projects.
She acknowledged the government’s
efforts in ensuring availability of clean and potable water for the people.
The area has a long history of water
shortages, thus the successful completion of the project is great support in
improving people’s livelihoods, he added. – The guardian
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