East Africa - Alarm As Dry Climate Hit Water Sector

Like in any other developing country in Africa, Tanzania pays heavily on her people with regards to water. Over one third of the country is arid and semi-arid, making it even more difficult for one to access clean and sanitary water.

Government figures shows 21.9 million or roughly 72 per cent of rural dwellers have access to clean water in their environs. Yet the ministry responsible for water and irrigation said it would target to reach 13 per cent additional residents in the rural areas to access water by 2020.

This by statistic means 85 per cent of Tanzanians living in rural communities would have access to water in the next four years. Such targets are positive to improve the welfare of citizens through scaling down waterborne related diseases.

Like in any other developing country in Africa, Tanzania pays heavily on her people with regards to water. Over one third of the country is arid and semi-arid, making it even more difficult for one to access clean and sanitary water.

Despite the country being surrounded by water sources; lakes, ocean, rivers and undergrounds -one needs to invest profoundly to get clean and safe water. In Dar es Salaam alone, which is boarded by the Indian Ocean, rivers and underground water - majority of the residents have been hit harder by water woes. Researchers have shown most deep boreholes, for instance, those financed by the World Bank did not produce water.

Communities are forced to buy the precious liquid at unregulated price. As severe as the situation is, the government attempted several times to address the problem including expanding lower and Upper Ruvu water treatment plants in the coast region to double water production and supply.

The other project implemented by the government is expansion work of the Lake Victoria water supply project from Mwanza to Shinyanga. But alongside such multi-million dollar projects, the WaterAid report maintains about 23 million people in the East African largest country have no access to water.

This means children and women are more subjected to social consequences with regard to water. In a more perspective, women spend more hours in search for water and at the same time, children under five years die each year to unpreventable water borne diseases - diarrhoea and typhoid.

A meeting by Council of African Ministers on Water in Dar es Salaam is projected by water expert to give new approach that will end water problem in rural communities within the next four years.

The summit, expected to appoint a new president and chairperson, will also give a roadmap ahead of attaining global sustainable goal six on ensuring availability and sustainability of water and sanitation.

Even though, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, opening the meeting said: "Research findings are projecting a future climate of above normal rainfall by 2035 in East Africa region.

This capital climate perspective should be taken into account in all our activities related to water resources management ... we need to manage potential impacts of climate change, within the context of managing floods and drought." For the premier, water scarcity management was still a problem in the continent and efforts to work on scientific findings are relatively low.

To improve the sector, the government this financial year increased her water budget by 90 per cent. Water and Irrigation Minister, Mr Gerson Lwenge, told the National Assembly the budget had increased to about 490 million US dollars in the 2016/17 financial year - from 256.3 million US dollars in the 2015/16 financial year.

The fund will help complete some 424 projects, revive dormant, expand the existing facilities and continue with other new water development projects.

Source: allAfica

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Taxonomy

• Water Scarcity
• Water Supply
• Access
• Water Supply