Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican authorities are working in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to open ninety boreholes to expand the provision of drinking water in the central province of Manica.
According to a report in Wednesday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, the project will cost just over 51 million meticais (about 800,000 US dollars) and will bring improved access to water to 27,000 people living in the districts of Sussundenga, Gondola, and Mossurize.
The opening of the boreholes falls within the emergency programme to repair damage caused in 2019 by Cyclone Idai, one of the worst tropical cyclones to hit Mozambique and southern Africa in recent years,
The governor of Manica province, Francisca Tomas, on Monday led a ceremony formally opening a borehole in Messambudzi, in the administrative post of Rotanda, in Sussundenga.
During the event, attended by representatives of all of the districts covered by the project, the governor delivered 96 containers of chlorine to be used for purification in the water systems in the districts of Vanduzi, Guro, Tambara, Gondola, and Sussundenga.
The chlorine was donated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and will be one of the Mozambican government’s preventive measures in the face of the expected fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Francisca Tomas told the audience that the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of the water supply infrastructure remains a challenge for the province’s administration as it works to stimulate development.
She explained that the local government had to step in because of the destruction or silting up of standpipes caused by Cyclone Idai, following which 27,000 people began using unsuitable water from sources such as rivers, springs, and traditional wells.
However, she stressed that it is everyone’s duty to protect the standpipes, pipes, reservoirs, and domestic connections to avoid any unnecessary loss of water and ensure that water is available for the population.
Tomas appealed to the district authorities to ensure proper, rigorous, and professional management of the water infrastructures to protect the longevity and reliability of the system so that water will remain available for human consumption.
In reply, a local representative thanked the provincial government for providing the borehole and promised to conserve the standpipes and use the water in a sustainable manner.
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