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M– The 76 000 emaSwati eagerly awaiting clean water supply and sanitation facilities will have to wait for more years as the project funds are said to be in shortage.
The pomp that was witnessed when the project was launched in July 2019, between the funders African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Eswatini Government is now dogged by serious problems that will further delay the implementation stage.
The agreement signed between the government and the bank was for the funding of the project to the tune of E807.53 million. This, according to the agreement would have covered both the clean water supply and the sanitation part. Both the government and the bank were to fund the project.
Submitted
However, in a sudden twist of events the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy submitted to Parliament a performance report stating that they were funding shortfalls for the projects, which have necessitated redesign and rescoping of the works.
So serious are the changes,
Pit latrines such as this one are said to be affecting underground water.
that the ministry has said that the sanitation part of the project has been suspended as a result of the funding shortfalls and delays in issuance of the tender for the works. This implies that thousands of communities, who were expecting to get environmentally friendly toilets will have to wait for an uncertain time frame while the teething problems are resolved. The ministry of Natural Resources declined to entertain questions this week, citing their pending appearance before the House of Assembly, where the report will be debated.
“The ministry can’t table the report and then be seen speaking about it in other avenues before appearing before Parliament,” said Sikelela Khoza the ministry’s Communications Officer.
Meanwhile, the performance report stipulates that E190 million was earmarked for the construction of the project, in the first quarter.
When outlining the progress to date, the ministry reported that both the sanitation component and the water supply component were at contractor procurement stage.
ChallengeS
Under challenges of the project, the ministry wrote: “Funding shortfalls which have resulted in a redesign and rescoping of the works and thus delays on the reissuing of the tender for the works. This has resulted in the suspension of the sanitation component.”
According to the environmental impact assessment at least 49 private properties will be affected by the project and the owners of the property would have to be compensated.
The news have been met by resentment from some of the intended
Toilets such as this one were scheduled to be built for the Manzini Region. However, there is a shortage of funds.
recipients of the project who decried that they spent too much money on hiring tanker trucks to bring water to homes.
Dumsani Magongo of Mafutseni said he spent E700 monthly purchasing water to support his family.
“We were expecting that substantial progress would have been made by now. Is it not surprising that communities such as Mafutseni, Ngculwini and Mtfongwaneni are very close to the Manzini City, yet they still do not have potable water supply for consumption,” he said.
Meanwhile, community members, who do not have money to buy water, have to fetch it from dams and wells, which are also shared with livestock.
While those who can afford have dug up boreholes, there are concerns that the water is bitter and under threat from being polluted by the many pit latrines.
“I made quotation for a drilling rig from a private company and was informed that I would have to part with at least E60 000.
“That is too much for the low salaries we get,” said Magongo.
Government has also said it was running short of drilling rigs.
During the budget allocations, E20 million was set aside for the purchase of drilling rig equipment but had not been utilised by now.
The Manzini Region Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Eswatini is part of government’s priority investment operation,
expanSion
The project focuses on the expansion of water supply system and improvement of sanitation infrastructure and hygiene practices in the Manzini Region, which is the most populous region in Eswatini.
It will support in expanding water and sanitation services to the unserved areas in the peri-urban areas of Manzini, in particular four Tinkhundla of Mtfongwaneni, Mafutseni, Man