Rural water coverage set for major boost

DODOMA: AS nations across the globe commemorate World Water Day today, the government has announced plans to invest a total of 787.5bn/- in various rural water supply projects under its ambitious 2026–2030 programme.

The initiative aims to ensure access to clean and safe water in the remaining 1,575 villages. Speaking in Dodoma ahead of the commemoration, the Director General of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA), Eng Wolta Kirita, said that under the 1-5-7-5 agenda, the government will allocate 200bn/- in the 2026/2027 financial year to supply water to 400 villages.

He further explained that in the 2027/2028 financial year, 197.5bn/- will be invested to benefit 395 villages.

In the 2028/2029 financial year, 195bn/- will be used to reach 390 villages, while the final year of the plan will also cover another 390 villages, with an allocation of 195bn/- to complete the programme.

Eng Kirita noted that as of February this year, a total of 878 water projects valued at 1.3tri/- are currently under implementation. Once completed, the projects are expected to benefit 8,441,967 people across 3,072 villages.

He added that before the establishment of RUWASA in 2019, only 3,827 villages, equivalent to 64.8 per cent, had access to water services, leaving 8,491 villages without reliable access to clean water.

During that period, the country had only 2,604 water schemes. However, the number has since increased significantly to 6,320 following the establishment of RUWASA, boosting coverage to 10,758 villages, which is equivalent to 85.1 per cent of rural areas.

In February 2021, the Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP) was adopted during the 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The programme forms part of the Priority Action Plan of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).

The initiative aims to address Africa’s gap in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) on water and sanitation by mobilising up to 30 billion US dollars annually in investments for the sector through 2030.

Observed annually on March 22 since 1993, World Water Day highlights the importance of freshwater resources and raises awareness about the 2.1 billion people worldwide who still lack access to safe water.

According to UN-Water, the day focuses on promoting action to address the global water crisis while supporting efforts to achieve SDG 6, which calls for water and sanitation for all by 2030.