COAST REGION: A TEAM of ministers have rushed to Rufiji and Kibiti districts in Coast Region to join a team of experts evaluating the impact of floods in the two districts, Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa has said.
Mr Majaliwa said this during an iftar he hosted on Tuesday evening, for staff of the Prime Minister’s office and associated institutions at his office in Mlimwa, Dodoma.
“We are the ones coordinating the National Disaster Management Department. As I speak, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliament, and Coordination), Jenista Mhagama, and the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Jim Yonazi, are on their way to the Coast Region to assess the situation.
The Rufiji River is full, inundating four wards,” expressed the PM. “Also in the team, include the Minister for Health, Minister for Agriculture, and Minister for Livestock and Fisheries. The ministers are also going to strengthen the coordination of the exercise to assess the situation,” he added.
The ongoing heavy rainfall in Rufiji District, Coast Region has caused widespread devastation, leaving more than 88,000 individuals in dire need of essential services, including shelter, food and healthcare.
Last Tuesday, the Rufiji District Commissioner, Major Edward Gowele while briefing the ruling party’s CCM Vice-Chairman, Mr Abdulrahman Kinana after visiting the devastated area, said that 12 wards out of 13 wards in Rufiji were affected by floods. He said the assessments have revealed that 23,000 households have been affected with a total of 88,000 individual in need of essential services including shelter and food.
“In addition to households being submerged by the flood approximately 33,930.24 hectares of crops have been affected,” Major Gowele said.
Furthermore, he said two people including a 20-year-old woman and a one-year-old child lost their lives due to the deluge.
“We have relocated the affected citizens to classrooms, but unfortunately, we have had to close some schools. For students currently in exam classes, we are arranging their transfer to neighbouring district schools,” he explained.
Major Gowele further noted that Mohoro Primary School, which was serving as a shelter for citizens, has also been surrounded by floodwaters.
For his part, Mr Kinana urged the government to provide immediate humanitarian support to the victims. He further revealed discussions with Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa regarding the sluggish aid delivery, expressing dissatisfaction with its pace.
“People require shelter, healthcare and sustenance. Let’s streamline assessments and ramp up aid distribution; people are eagerly awaiting assistance, which should precede any further evaluations,” Mr Kinana urged. Engineer Dismas Mbote from the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) has shed light on the root causes of the flooding in Rufiji, attributing it to human encroachment and activities along the river channel.
“The water volume in the Rufiji River was once recorded at 13,000 cubic metres per second in May 1974. However, during March and April of this year, the volume of water flowing in the river was recorded at 8,444 cubic meters per second,” Eng Mbote explained.
Eng Mbote detailed the historical and current water volume data of the Rufiji River, highlighting a significant decrease from the peak levels recorded in May 1974.
Despite ongoing El Nino rains, the current water levels have not matched those of 1974, indicating that the floods cannot be solely blamed on the presence of the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP).
