The Ministry of Water Development and Irrigation says it has drilled 419 boreholes in rural areas in the last four months with support from various organisations.
The initiative is in line with the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7 on access to portable water for all citizens.
Spokesperson for the ministry James Kumwenda told Malawi News Agency (Mana) within the week that the ministry is committed to ensuring that people living in rural areas have access to clean and portable.
He said this is why the ministry has implemented a number of borehole drilling projects from January to May this year.
According to Kumwenda, under the National Water Project, the ministry has drilled 160 boreholes, the Chinese Government has sunk 204 boreholes while the Mwanza-Neno Ground Water Project has drilled 22 boreholes.
But Kumwenda bemoaned the rapid increase in vandalism of water facilities, saying it is affecting the ministry’s objective of meeting MDG 7.
He said out of 419 boreholes, 179 have already been rehabilitated due to vandalism.
“These are the figures the ministry has. However, I am sure that there are so many issues of vandalism which have not yet been brought out,” said Kumwenda.
Studies show that about 40 percent of water points in rural areas are not working. Vandalism is cited as one of the factors behind the problem.
