Africa-Press – Tanzania. AN implementation of water project at Nyakato Ward located some 15 kilometres away from Bukoba town has now an advanced stage of completion following supply of some needed construction materials.
The implementation of the project commenced in December, 2020 and was expected to be complete by February, this year. However, due to lack of construction materials including water pipes and bricks the completion of the project was delayed.
Rural Water and Sanitation Authority (RUWASA) Engineer for Bukoba District, Severin Rugemalira told this newspaper that lack of construction materials, including bricks and water pipes delayed the completion of the project which is expected to supply clean water to Bulugo villagers.
Eng Rugemalira said plans were underway to procure all required materials through government tender system and that the project will be completed before the end of July, this year.
“Construction of a water tank had already been completed. We are waiting for water pipes which will be purchased in bulk through the regional water tender board,” he said.
Earlier this year, the late former President John Magufuli hailed the residents of Nyakato Ward for offering over ten hectares of land freely for the construction of the Vocational Education Training Centre (VETA) infrastructure project. The late Magufuli directed the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Water to ensure that they provide electricity and clean water to the surrounding villagers.
He commended the governments of China and the United Kingdom (UK) for supporting Tanzania in various key sectors including education, health and infrastructure.
He showered praises during his tour in the region after laying a foundation stone for the construction of an international Vocational Education Training Centre (VETA), at Nyakato Ward, in Bukoba Municipal Council which will cost over 22bn/- with the support from China government.
Later, he inaugurated the rehabilitated buildings at Ihungo secondary school, a project which cost a total of 11.1bn/- with support from UK. “When Tanzania approached the UK after the September 10, 2016 5.9 magnitude earthquake they responded quickly by donating a total of 6.1bn/- for the rehabilitation of the school while the Tanzania government contributed about 4.8bn/-. A friend in need is a friend indeed,” he said amid applause.
During her recent tour in the region, Deputy Minister for Water, Engineer Maryprisca Mahundi inspected several water projects including the Rusumo Water Supply project, in Ngara district which was being implemented at a cost of 2.7bn/, a loan from the World Bank (WB).
“Corruption has affected this project. I will personally make a close follow-up to know the exact costs. Some engineers under Ruwasa have been colluding with unfaithful consultants to steal taxpayers’ funds,” she said.
Engineer Mahundi cited a case of one project whereby a consultant issued an estimated cost amounting to 40bn/- but later the project was completed at only 500m/- using the Force Account. She explained that the government was keen to ensure that all villages access clean and safe water.
“Our target is to ensure that women are relieved from the burden of carrying a bucket of water on their heads. The water tanks should supply water directly to their households,’ she said.
However, she appealed to Tanzanians who access tap water to promptly pay their bills to facilitate implementation of other water projects.
She warned the workers of water authorities to avoid issuing unrealistic water bills to customers adding that she recently rejected EWURA’s plan of increasing water tariffs until further notice after an evaluation team completes its task.
She further revealed that the government allocated over 117bn/- to 17 regions facing critical water shortages including Kagera Region which was allocated about 9.7bn/-
