AfDB urges care of Mzimba water project
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has urged government to ensure sustainability of the $22.85 million (about K16.7 billion) Mzimba Integrated Urban Water and Sanitation project launched yesterday.
The project, which will serve about 70 000 people, was jointly financed by Opec Fund for International Development ($14.85 million), AfDB ($5 million) and Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) ($3 million).
Speaking when President Peter Mutharika commissioned the project in Mzimba on Tuesday, AfDB representative Eyerusalem Fasika called for proper maintenance of the system and adequate budgeting for operational costs.
She said AfDB realises that water plays a critical role in development of various sectors like health, agriculture, infrastructure and housing, hence the support.
Said Fasika: “I would like to emphasise to the beneficiaries to take good care of this infrastructure as well as catchment area where the project draws its water to ensure sustainability of the system by, among others, avoiding tree cutting.
“Efforts should also be made to ensure the sustainability of this intervention, by properly operating and maintaining the system and adequately budgeting for operational costs. I would also like to reaffirm the commitment of the AfDB in supporting the efforts of the government and the people of Malawi in addressing the country’s development challenges as articulated in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy III.”
In his remarks, Mutharika said government was trying its best to provide safe water to all parts of the country as it will also be rolling out water projects in Karonga and Nkhata Bay.
He said: “I am a President who does not look at what group of people to support. My government supports everybody. I want people to be drinking safe water, sleeping in good houses. Some people in the opposition want me to stop this, but I will not stop!”
On his part, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Joseph Mwanamvekha stressed the need to reduce non-revenue water, which he said was a major problem across all water boards.
He said reduction of non-revenue water will help improve efficiency in these water boards.
NRWB loses 33 percent of its revenue to non-revenue water, which is water lost due to leakages, malfunctioning meters and aged pipes.
NRWB chief executive officer Titus Mtegha said the Mzimba project is a big relief to people as the old Mzimba water supply system did not match the demand and that there were sanitation challenges faced by the town.
According to NRWB, the project has reduced water-related diseases from 34 percent to 22 percent; increased access to improved sanitation, good hygiene practices and created 976 jobs for local people.
The initial implementation period was from December 2015 to June 2019, but the project finished earlier than planned. n
