Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has issued a three-day ultimatum to authorities to trace all tributaries of Ruvu River Basin and clean up human activities that interfere with such water sources, otherwise they risk being sacked.
Majaliwa issued the order after making an impromptu inspection on the Dar es Salaam and Coastal regions’ key sources of water–the Upper and Lower Ruvu, only to learn that human activities are seriously threatening the livelihood of dwellers in the country’s commercial capital- Dar es Salaam.
He said water authorities across the country must act fast “and now” to remove all human- related activities including agriculture and livestock grazamonging near the river and any other water sources. “I am giving you three days to clean up the river and its tributaries. We need to see them free from human-related activities … we believe that it’s the immediate option to get sufficient clean water supply,” he said, when winding up his inspection at the Upper Ruvu water treatment plant in the Coast region.
Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (DAWASA) announced that it currently pumps roughly 119 million litres of water a day, down from more than 270 million litres.
The development has prompted the authority to implement emergency water rationing to ensure a large population gets access to the precious liquid.
However, Premier Majaliwa said it is no longer the time for water executives to sit in their comfortable office and emphasized the need for them to resume site operations. “We want you to embark on these operations,” he said, explaining that President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration had vowed to ease women from the trouble of searching for water.
He demanded the water basin and water utility authorities to employ all available legislation including the Water Act 2019, the Livestock Act 2010, the Environmental Management Act of 2004 and the Water Resource Management Act of 2009 to eliminate all encroachers including pastoralists near water sources.
He also ordered the Ministry of Water to seek an audience with the Ministry of Finance and Planning to solicit the 700 US dollar loan facility from the Chinese Exim Bank, to fund a water project in Kigamboni.
Mr Majaliwa said that the government had suspended any communication between government institutions with lenders, and instead the ministry of finance will be acting on their behalf.
DAWASA had reached a final stage in 2018 with the Export-Import Bank of China to finance a water project in Kigamboni, unfortunately, the agreement required additional financing signatories to activate the contract.
Initially, Water Minister Jumaa Aweso told the premier that the solution to the declining water levels at the Lower Ruvu was to implement the long-awaited Kidunda dam project in Morogoro.
According to the Minister Aweso, the government had so far compensated the residents, unfortunately; there haven’t been sufficient funds to move ahead with the construction stage.
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