‘Control water leakages caused by worn-out pipelines’
PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has issued several directives to the Ministry of Water aimed at protecting the environment and strengthens water availability in the country.
The PM issued the directives on Wednesday while adjourning the 11th session of the 12th Parliament, until August 29th this year.
Mr Majaliwa said the Ministry should control water leakages caused by worn-out pipelines as well as limit water losses during the supply to customers. He also demanded that all water wells to be functional to ease supply.
“It is important for the ministry to make sure water supply to citizens is in control…you must work to revive un-functional water wells that have plenty of water and they are not used so as to facilitate the availability of water,” he said.
PM also instructed the basin water boards and authorities to fully manage the permits on water use based on the needs of users and the sustainability of water available in relevant areas.
He further said the public should continue receiving education on how to preserve and protect water sources available.
Mr Majaliwa also said the government is conducting an assessment of the environment damage and setting strategies that will enable agricultural and other activities be conducted without destroying water sources and protected areas.
Tabling ministry’s budget recently, the Minister for Water, Mr Jumaa Aweso, stated the sector’s priorities, among other things, are maintaining water sources by identifying, demarcating, and notifying in the government gazette so that water sources are legally protected.
He mentioned other priorities as to complete construction, repair and expansion of ongoing projects including water projects in 28 towns; continue with the construction of the strategic Kidunda Dam and commence construction of the Farkwa Dam.
“Another priority in the 2023/2024 fiscal year is designing and implementing water projects using reliable sources including lakes and rivers to supply water in areas with severe shortages,” he noted.
The National Assembly approved 756.2bn/- for water sector docket for 2023/24, in which, among other plans, the government will construct 27 medium-sized dams, rehabilitate others, and conduct thorough inspections of existing storage facilities.
Mr Aweso further said there will be a total of 1,546 rural and 244 urban water projects in the 2023/24 financial year.
Other plans for the sector in the next fiscal year, includes completing the review of the 2002 National Water Policy and commence the formulation of a National Water Master Plan and come up with regulations and various guidelines meant to ensure that water laws are effectively implemented and electronic systems upgraded to increase efficiency in the water sector.
He said that the average amount of water available per person per year is approximately 2,105 cubic metres for Tanzania’s mainland population of 59.8 million, above the international minimum water requirement of 1,700 cubic metres per person per year.
The minister said that statistics show that the demand for water in the country for various sectors in 2022 was an average of 62 billion cubic metres and is expected to increase and reach 80.2 billion cubic metres in 2035, saying that these requirements will continue to increase due to population growth and wealth production activities in various sectors, in particular irrigation, electricity production, industrial production, tourism, mining, animal husbandry, fishing and wildlife.
Mr Aweso said that the goal of the government is to make sure its citizens living in rural areas have access to clean and safe water services by 85 per cent by 2025.
To achieve that goal, the government has continued to build, repair, and expand networks to distribute water, as well as strengthen the management of water services in the country.
Adding that the availability of rural water service has increased from an average of 74.5 per cent in December 2021 to an average of 77 per cent in December 2022
