Gravity water schemes need urgent help

Malawi Government has said only 30 percent of the 80 gravity-fed water schemes in the country are working and there is urgent need for resources that amount to billions of Kwacha to be secured for all the schemes to work. Principal Secretary Sandram Maweru in the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development said an interview yesterday. Currently, government through the National Water Development Programme got funding from external financiers such as the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) to rehabilitate the schemes such as Mpira Scheme in Balaka, which is already running. “We would have loved if we had the money to start rehabilitation works today. However, the cost is just huge as it is in billions of Kwacha and government alone cannot afford,” said Maweru.—SAMUEL CHIBAYA, Staff Reporter