Provision of water on good footing

DAILY NEWS Reporters in Dodoma

Mbozi MP, Mr David Silinde (Chadema).

IMPLEMENTATION of the second phase of the National Water Policy which focuses on providing the precious liquid in the vicinity of homesteads is scheduled to start at the end of this year after completion of the initial stage which covered 2007 and 2015.

This was revealed in the National Assembly by the Minister for Water and Irrigation, Engineer Gerson Lwenge, while responding to a supplementary question by Mbozi MP, Mr David Silinde (Chadema).

Mr Silinde had tasked the government to explain steps it had taken to ensure citizens are able to access water within 400 metres from their homes as it has been stipulated in the National Water Policy of 2002.

The Minister admitted that the plan was not realized as it had been envisaged and thus extension of the execution into second stage. He did not however explain the extent of the work done so far.

“The national policy directs that 95 per cent of urban dwellers and 86 of rural folks should be able to access the precious liquid within 400 metres but our dream is to cover 100 per cent of all citizens,” the minister said with confidence.

In a basic question earlier, the Deputy Minister in President’s Office Regional (Administration and Local Governments), Mr Suleiman Jaffo, said the government has so far dished out 300m/- out of 400m/- required to drill a borehole to provide water to 10,000 residents of Tinde in Shinyanga Region.

Mr Jaffo said 100m/- and 200m/- were disbursed in two separate occasions and that the government was set to dish the remaining amount to accomplish the project.

The Deputy Minister was reacting to a basic question by Special Seats MP Azza Hillal Hamad (Special Seats-CCM) who took issues with the slow pace in implementation of the project. She also complained that the four water collecting centres planned for the project were not enough to serve the 10,000 residents.

The Deputy Minister admitted of the slow pace and blamed it on limited resources. He also directed local authorities there to add on the water collecting points