Zomba water situation improves

The water crisis that hit most parts of Zomba City and surrounding areas has improved with Zomba Central Hospital (ZCH) resuming theatre operations yesterday.

The water shortages in the old capital started on Friday following vandalism of Southern Region Water Board (SRWB) equipment.

In an interview yesterday, Zomba Central Hospital principal administrator Fredson Kambeni said the Eastern Region referral hospital has resumed the theatre operations following improved water supply.

“We have normalised our operations as a hospital. We are no longer referring patients to other hospitals because our operation theatre is now functioning,” he said.

The water crisis forced ZCH to refer patients requiring surgery to St. Luke’s Mission Hospital in Malosa in the district and Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre.

Among others, ZCH was failing to operate its sterilisation machine that uses steam pressure to kill harmful bacteria, viruses and fungi as it needs clean water.

In a separate interview, SRWB chief executive officer Duncan Chimbamba said the board is now supplying about 11 million litres per day against the required 16 million litres per day in the city.

The water crisis also affected public institutions in the city, including University of Malawi.