MONZE REELS UNDER WATER BLUES

GOVERNMENT and the local authority in Monze must address shortage of water in most parts of the district by drilling more boreholes, say a non-governmental organisation.

Society for Gender Justice and Women’s Rights executive director Collins Mumba says most communities in the district were facing serious water challenges which required urgent attention from both Government and other partners.

Mr Mumba said through its public hearing in rural parts of the district, the organisation had learnt that people were sharing drinking water from shallow wells.

The main water sources such as dams and boreholes had either broken down or dried up as a result of last season’s drought.

Mr Mumba is worried that if no urgent measures were taken to address the water challenges people would lose their lives as well as their animals.

“We need urgent concerted efforts from both central government and local authority to address the water challenges in most parts of the district, where people have resorted to drinking dirty water from shallow wells due to dysfunctional boreholes and drying up of other sources of water like the dams,” Mr Mumba said.

He urged elected leaders in the district to get down to the people at the grassroots to help address the many challenges local communities were facing such as hunger and shortage of water.

Mr Mumba said most elected leaders had the tendency of shunning their areas after being voted into office, and should come to an end.

Meanwhile, Mwanza West Ward councillor Clemet Hamakala said there was need for a vigorous plan to provide water for people and their livestock in the area. F

Poor rainfall in the last rainy season had also triggered serious hunger in the area.

Mr Hamakala appealed to Government to also rehabilitate the six dams which were silted in the ward on which people depended for water. The dams should be de-silted before the next rainy season started so that people could access water in case there was another drought.