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NRWB to reconnect 287 water kiosks

Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) board chairperson Frank Mwenifumbo says they will reconnect 287 water kiosks that were disconnected due to various reasons to help fight the cholera outbreak in the region.

He said this on Saturday after touring boreholes at Songwe and Karonga Town Water Supply Project in the district whose expansion work is underway.

Said Mwenifumbo: “We have agreed to reconnect all customers in the Northern Region who were disconnected due to unpaid water bills on an agreement that they pay the bills as we go along.

“In addition, we have advised management to reopen 287 communal water kiosks, taps in 10 primary and three secondary schools to enable people to access potable water to enhance personal hygiene amid cholera outbreak.”

NRWB board members during their inspection tour at Songwe in Karonga

He also said the board has set aside K15 million for drilling boreholes in cholera hotspots, targeting health centres which are treating cholera patients.

One of the clients, Jane Mwakasoko, commended the board for reconnecting water to customers with huge bills.

“We need potable water in the wake of the cholera outbreak,” she said.

A resident Dorothy Chanduwira, who gets her water through a communal kiosk, also hailed the board, saying the availability of tap water will help to reduce cholera cases in the district.

“Most people who suffer from cholera drink from contaminated water. If government can supply clean water to many people, cases will decline,” she said.

The Karonga Town Water Supply Project is co-financed by Malawi Government and Badea to the tune of $26 million (about K26 billion) with Opec Fund contributing $15 million (about K15 billion) and it is expected to be completed by July this year.

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