Africa-Press – Angola. The president of the Board of Directors (PCA) of the Uíge Water and Sanitation Company (EASU – EP), Emília Fernandes, said that the solution to the problem of lack of water in some neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city of Uíge is coming soon.
The manager asked residents for peace of mind, highlighting that from January next year, 15,000 new home connections will be made within a perimeter of 100 square kilometers, with work on surveying and signaling the points having already begun.
The lack of drinking water for the consumption of the population in the peripheral neighborhoods of the city of Uíge continues to be a concern for residents, because the system for collecting, pumping, treating and distributing the “precious liquid” still does not cover the entire area of the city, supplying only the urban area of the city and some neighborhoods.
Most of the population on the outskirts uses water from wells, boreholes, underground tanks and small wells built by residents.
Emília Fernandes says that the neighborhoods Bem-Vindo, Quijima, Damba, Gigí, Quindenuco, Tange, GAI, Ana Candande, Orlando Fonseca, Sonangol and others are already cataloged for the expansion of the drinking water distribution network. At this stage, she added, unmade connections in neighborhoods already covered by the “Water for All” program will also be completed, as long as they are not in a risk area.
The official warned that, for vacant lots, residences under construction, abandoned houses, as well as those rented residences whose owners do not honor their commitments to the company, they will not have access to water due to the fact that they hinder the normal functioning of the network and achieving the company’s objectives.
“We are working with the municipal administration, in order to provide us with the number of inhabitants for each neighborhood, in order to determine the number of home connections needed for each locality”, said the PCA, adding that the expansion work of the home network are in charge of the Chinese company CTC, which will also build the new water supply system from the Loge river.
New capture and treatment system
The EASU – EP PCA said that the new collection, treatment and distribution system, financed by the World Bank, will have the capacity to pump up to 16 thousand cubic meters of water per hour, a reservoir and two tanks with a capacity of five and four thousand cubic meters. This will reinforce the current one, which captures and pumps 630 thousand cubic meters/hour from the River Loé.
“While we wait for the reinforcement of the new water supply system, the distribution network of the Horizon do Quilumosso Centrality offers good capacity and only 15 percent of it is being used. Therefore, a pipeline will be built that will connect to the old water network. distribution of water in the city of Uíge, to increase the amount of water to be distributed”, he said.
The PCA recalled that, until 2012, the city of Uíge had only three thousand home connections. Currently, he stressed, it has more than 28 thousand extensions and work continues to cover more locations and meet the population’s demand.
People call for an urgent solution
In the neighborhoods of Quindenuco, Gigí, Quixicongo Novo, Sonangol, GAI, Ana Candande, Quijima, Damba, Tange, Quituma and 6a CIA, all on the outskirts of the city of Uíge, Press reporting team found the lack of mains water public. The population continues to face enormous difficulties and calls for an urgent solution.
“The situation is worrying. Every day, in many families, cases of diarrhea, typhoid fever, schistosomiasis and other abdominal diseases are recorded, caused by the consumption of unsafe water”, said João Diogo, resident of the Gigí neighborhood. He added that the increase in exodus population from the city center to the outskirts has worsened the situation, because a large part of the water holes are drying up and the few boreholes built by the government are obsolete and can no longer support the population’s demand.
Customers owe more than 400 million kwanzas
The president of the Board of Directors of the Uíge Water and Sanitation Company lamented the fact that many consumers do not pay their utility bills. In the city of Uíge alone, she said, customers owe more than 400 million kwanzas, with 84 percent of this amount referring to domestic consumers.
Emília Fernandes said that the situation has created a breach in the company’s coffers and compromised several services such as the acquisition of new pumps, payment of salaries, invoices and other services. The manager said that, within days, the company will make cuts and take new measures for debtors.
“Water is found in nature, but to reach homes and be consumed safely, the government makes several investments. Therefore, consumers have an obligation to pay their bills to ensure the maintenance of the system”, he highlighted.
Emília Fernandes reported that payment stores were created with easy access in strategic points and neighborhoods in the city of Uíge, such as in Centralidade do Quilomosso, in the neighborhoods Mbemba Ngango, Dunga, Paco e Benze, Quilala (CLESE), Candombe-Velho, Papelão, Welcome and others and there is also availability for payment by reference at ATMs.
Vandalization of meters
Another concern is the vandalization of equipment, especially meters, pipes and others that allow water consumption to be read, in neighborhoods that already benefit from water.
The PCA condemns the behavior of residents who vandalize equipment, considering that the damage caused daily causes setbacks in the expansion of the water system to other neighborhoods, as well as in their maintenance.
The official warned that water mining and vandalization of equipment constitute crimes punishable by law. To this end, an exhaustive survey of all vandalized equipment is being carried out to determine the damage already caused and those who are indicted as perpetrators of these acts will be held criminally responsible.
“We have also come across less than favorable attitudes. There are residents who physically attack the company’s technicians in the collection service, tearing their clothes and taking away the cell phones synchronized with the billing system in their possession. This situation does not help in the good cohabitation of the institution with consumers”, he lamented.
Sonangol neighborhood
In the Sonangol neighborhood there is no borehole. The water consumed by the population is extracted from a source called “murro”, with a steep elevation of more than 300 meters in height and many residents are unable to make two trips carrying drums, buckets and bathtubs in their hands or on their heads.
In this location, the point where the water is brought, the polyethylene pipe that supplies the tank broke and created a lagoon of dirty water where, during the rainy season, everything is mixed with impurities, forcing the population to consume the same water, due to lack of alternative.
Teresa dos Santos, another resident of the Sonangol neighborhood, press found carrying water from the well, regrets the situation that other residents live in. She recalled that the tube transported water to a point where the liquid could be obtained in better conditions. But, due to its fragility, it broke three years ago and was never repaired. Due to the lack of an alternative, she said, residents continue to consume unsafe water.
“We want to make our cry for help heard. As you can see, we are in a bad place here. The source is located at an enormous depth that does not allow us to fetch water twice, and it is dirty. We live in difficult days and that is why acute diarrheal diseases They don’t let us. Many times we are forced to buy water from motorcycle taxi drivers in other parts of the city”, he said.
Bridge over the Gigi River
In addition to the lack of water, the populations of the Gigí, Quindenuco and Quixicongo Novo neighborhoods are also calling for the improvement of the bridge over the Gigí river, which connects the three locations. Quindenuco’s assistant chief, Ernesto Manuel, said that a concrete structure was recently placed to serve as a hydraulic passage and facilitate the circulation of vehicles in the region, but due to its small size, the river’s waters seek another course, opening up a larger ditch and once again preventing cars and motorbikes from circulating in the area.
“Here in Quindenuco we don’t have a market. The population buys food on the other side of Quixicongo Novo. The bridge is dilapidated and cars and motorbikes don’t pass and when the rain falls the whole downtown is flooded so that, even on foot, people residents cannot cross,” he said.
The chief highlighted that the bridge over the Gigí River represents a fundamental need for that community, as it is the link to neighborhoods with thousands of inhabitants. Hence the urgency of its improvement, as it is part of the population’s socioeconomic life, as well as improving the circulation of people and vehicles.
Business opportunity
As they wait for the expansion of the water distribution network for their neighborhoods, some residents have had to sign contracts with owners of three-wheeled motorbikes, known as Nambuangongos or kupapatas, who collect containers from their homes every day to supply them with the product. that take place in various parts of the city.
Miguel Feliciano Eduardo, one of the motorcycle taxi drivers who has been dedicated to this activity for several years, in the Sonangol, GAI and Ana Candande neighborhoods, said that the business arose due to the needs of the residents, because in these locations there are no fountains or waterholes, and they are forced to travel long distances with drums of water.
“This entire process, which concludes with the verbal signing of the contract, involves an agreement with the customers. I charge 50 kwanzas for a 20-liter drum. It’s a tiring activity, as many residents want water, which makes me start with customer service from 5 am and ends only at dusk”, he said.
Father of three children, Miguel Feliciano Eduardo said that the activity is profitable and guarantees his family’s livelihood. “With it I built my house and covered the costs of academic training and the rest of my family.”
Gigi neighborhood
The president of the Residents’ Committee in zone seven of Kibanda, in the Gigí neighborhood, Razão José Luboko, said that the population uses water from the Gigí river for domestic use, especially in the dry season.
The resident warned that human health depends on the influence of the growing number of toxic substances in water, air, soil and food and the lack of drinking water further worsens the population’s health situation.
“The lack of drinking water in homes and basic sanitation constitutes a serious problem in the lives of residents. Therefore, we ask for the Government’s intervention to find a solution soon”, he appealed, adding that, in some water holes, due to the excess of people looking for water, there have been conflicts between residents, a situation that worries traditional authorities.
Quindenuco neighborhood
In the Quindenuco neighborhood, the situation is no different. The deputy soba, Ernesto Manuel Pinto, on behalf of the population, recalled that a long time ago that community received the promise of installing a public drinking water distribution network, which was never implemented. He mentioned that more than seven thousand inhabitants live in the district and they all depend on a single water well called “Kakididi” (barrier), as only the first to arrive takes clean water and the others are left with the liquid already cloudy, a situation that forces women to get up early or look for other alternatives.
“Water is life and health. A population without treated water is not healthy. We are worried because, every day, our children get sick and we fear the worst with the arrival of the rainy season when we are often forced to go to hospitals during the night,” he said.
Ernesto Manuel Pinto highlighted that every morning residents are forced to travel long distances to look for water of some quality, as the existing water holes in the neighborhood no longer offer conditions, as they are in the middle of residences, close to bathrooms and close to garbage deposits washed away by the rains.
“Residents of the Quindenuco, Gigí and part of Quixicongo Novo neighborhoods, all nearby, with an estimated population of more than 20 thousand inhabitants, resort to the only fountain, Kakididi, where men and women, with drums and buckets in their hands and heads , they get up early to get some water for consumption”, he lamented.
jornaldeangola
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
