MWANZA: WATER Minister, Jumaa Aweso has assured Mwanza residents that measures are underway to restore reliable water supply after investigations identified production challenges behind recent shortages affecting several parts of the city.
Speaking to residents of Mecco in Ilemela Municipality and Buhongwa in Nyamagana District on Monday, Mr Aweso said the government had already begun implementing Prime Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba’s directive to permanently address water supply challenges facing Mwanza City.
He said that immediately after receiving the directive, he travelled to Mwanza and held meetings with various leaders to establish the root causes of the problem.
According to the minister, consultations involved Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) leaders in Mwanza Region, the Regional Commissioner and officials from the water and electricity sectors.
“We held a joint meeting involving the Ministry of Water under the Permanent Secretary, Engineer Mwajuma Waziri, MWAUWASA, TANESCO represented by its executive engineer Lazaro and EWURA to establish the source of the challenge,” he said.
Mr Aweso said investigations conducted by the institutions revealed production challenges that disrupted water supply in many parts of the city.
“Why have the complaints increased? Why are residents of Nyamagana and Ilemela complaining about water shortages? These were the questions we sought to answer,” he said.
He added that after identifying the problem, immediate corrective measures were taken and water supply had already resumed in some affected areas.
“We have spoken openly and transparently. We are here to solve people’s problems, not to create more difficulties for them. Whenever challenges arise, solutions must be found,” he said.
The minister accompanied with officials from the water and electricity sectors, inspected the Capripoint and Butimba water treatment plants and confirmed that both facilities were operational.
He urged MWAUWASA and TANESCO management to strengthen cooperation to prevent similar challenges from recurring.
“These are government institutions. Whenever challenges arise, they must sit together and find solutions. Success cannot be achieved through blame games but through cooperation,” he said.
Mr Aweso emphasised that water and electricity are essential services with no substitutes and that the responsible institutions must ensure uninterrupted service delivery.
ALSO READ: Green Bond moves Tanga closer to 24-hour water supply
He, however, acknowledged that Mwanza is continuing to face water supply challenges because demand exceeds the current production capacity.
The minister explained that the Capripoint water source was originally designed to produce 90 million litres of water per day, while demand has risen to 180 million litres daily.
As a result, he said, President Samia Suluhu Hassan directed the construction of the Butimba Water Project, which has the capacity to produce 48 million litres of water per day to reduce the deficit.
“The Butimba project has been completed and residents have already started receiving clean and safe water,” he said.
Despite the improvement, Mr Aweso noted that Mwanza still faces a shortfall of about 50 million litres of water per day.
He said the government is working hard to increase production capacity at the Capripoint facility while implementing a major strategic project involving the construction of large water storage tanks in Nyamagana and Ilemela districts.
“Our goal is to ensure that Mwanza residents fully benefit from the resources of Lake Victoria by receiving reliable water services,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Aweso directed the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water, Engineer Mwajuma Waziri, to suspend MWAUWASA’s Water Production and Distribution Manager, Engineer Ramadhan Mramba, for failing to attend the minister’s meeting despite being summoned twice.