TBL disburses Sh1.4 billion to protect water sources

   

Water Deputy Minister Maryprisca Mahundi poses for a photo with TBL country director Jose Moran (left) and WWF country director Amani Ngusaru as they display a write up for the water security project in Dar es Salaam early in the week. PHOTO | COURTESY

By Alex Nelson Malanga

More by this Author

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) has disbursed a total of

$600,000 (about Sh1.4 billion) as a part of money to finance the implementation of a bankable nature solution project.

The three-year project, which is implemented by Wami/Ruvu Basin Water Board (WRBWB) in cooperation with the World Wild Fund (WWF), focuses on improving water quality and quantity supplied to Dar es Salaam.

WRBWB director Elibariki Mmassy said yesterday that the project was also geared to protecting watershed biodiversity in the city and satellite towns through bankable nature-based solutions in the Msimbazi, Mzinga and Ruvu rivers sub-catchments.

Urging other members of the private sector to emulate TBL, Mr Mmassy said they were targeting to collect some Sh5 billion to cover the entire project from March 2022 throughout to December 2025

He said the project setup was aligned with the overall principles of integrated water resource management approach to ensure the coordinated development of water resources with a view to optimising social and economic welfare without compromising their sustainability.

TBL’s country director Jose Moran said water is the number one ingredient in beer and that is why they were taking part in efforts meant to improve water access and security in the communities.

Through innovative partnerships and initiatives--the likes of this project, AB InBev, TBL’s parent company, has been able to make substantial progress to ensure that water resources are protected.

Again, Mr Moran said the efforts were geared to ensuring that farmers and communities stood a chance to access sustainable sources of water without depletion.

He added that the initiatives sought to unify freshwater management and conservation across the catchment and provide an overarching framework to address key challenges.

“We are proud of this initiative as TBL, as it will play a huge role in ensuring that conserved freshwater resources will contribute significantly to positive social, environmental and economic outcomes while making communities and ecosystems more climate resilient,” noted Mr Moran.

WWF country director Amani Ngusaru said all the partners in the projects came together to ensure the objective of improving quality and quantity of water in key rivers of Dar es Salaam watershed is met.

They also joined their forces to improve large scale bankable nature solutions.

“This will only be possible through the collaborative efforts of the public and private sector as well as development partners,” noted Dr Ngusaru.

Water deputy minister Maryprisca Mahundi, who was the chief guest at the event to launch the project, said the water security project will go a long way to influence a range of players to work together.

“We need to develop inclusive multi-stakeholder approaches for addressing water risks and contributions to improve water quality and quantity,” she urged.