Aweso pushes for strengthened awareness on water sources protection 

DAR ES SALAAM: AHEAD of World Water Day, Water Minister Jumaa Aweso has urged water stakeholders to dedicate the day by the public on safeguarding and maintaining the country’s water resources for the benefit of both present and future development.

Additionally, he emphasized the need for strengthening the ongoing education to help all Tanzanians comprehend that safeguarding water sources is essential to people’s survival and well-being.

The global commemoration of World Water Day is marked every March 22nd, and next year the theme will be leveraging water for peace.

He made the remarks at Azam Media-sponsored symposium themed “Mito ni Maisha Yetu 2023,” literally meaning ‘Rivers are vital to our livelihoods’, held over the weekend in Dar es Salaam.

The symposium, which brought together a number of water stakeholders from the Ministry, the media, university students, environmental activists, musicians, farmers and pastoralists, was specifically organized for the campaign to conserve water sources.

“Development toward conserving water resources begins with me, with you, and with all of us,” he said.

He said the government will allocate enough budget for protecting and preserving water sources and infrastructure across the country to combat the challenge of access to water, but without people’s concern, the effort will not succeed.

“Participation from the community is essential to any project; without it, you would fail,” he said.

The minister further noted that the government will always be at the forefront to protect water sources.

This includes keeping up with changing the mindset among executives in the relevant authorities so that they raise public awareness of the significance of protecting water sources.

In response to concerns raised by the herdsmen’s interference and destruction of water sources, he stated that cooperation among the herdsmen is necessary to construct infrastructure that they may use jointly.

For his part, Director of the Wami-Ruvu Basin Water Board (WRBWB), Elibariki Massassy, said the organization has devised a different strategy to address the challenge of a growing population that results in a greater demand for water.

He noted that in order to address the devastation of water sources, they are carrying out a variety of tasks, such as drilling wells and conduct public awareness campaigns.

Economist and researcher in the water sector, Dr Marcossy Albanie noted that the government must involve the people in safeguarding and developing appropriate plans for the conservation of water resources.

“Economy is the system of production, and the primary production sector in our nation is agriculture, which, like other production sectors, cannot exist without water. As a result, we must all safeguard the water,” he stressed

In line with that, he expressed his gratitude to President Samia for his observation, tracking, analysis, and giving feedback on the specific campaign that Azam Media had initiated.