By Zephania Ubwani
The Citizen Bureau Chief
Moshi. Temperatures are high and the sun is scorching. With the beginning of rains still miles away, high rising dust rather than clouds dominate the atmosphere.This is Rundugai area about 15 kilometres south of Bomang'ombe, the Hai District headquarters in Kilimanjaro region and not very far from the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA).
As is characteristic of most of the lowlands in Kilimanjaro and neighbouring Arusha this time of the year, the scenery is not appealing.

Water is in short supply and scores of villagers can be seen 'driving' their animals loaded with plastic containers full of water or going in the opposite direction to fetch the precious liquid.It is early in the day and school children heading to the classrooms are seen carrying small  containers which they will use to fetch water during the short breaks.

A random survey is enough to tell that this is a semi arid zone whose residents have to cope with all sorts of problems associated with the scarcity of water, including low agricultural productivity.

Unlike the evergreen slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Meru, some kilometres away, for much of the flat lowlands extending to KIA and the famous Mererani mines, the farming plots are bare - no plants.

But as one  moves to the south and beneath the barren landscape that offered no  quick hope for a stranger, cascades of fresh water falls suddenly emerge to change the bad impression.Water from underground sources is flowing in all directions, cooling the hot pockets of air, irrigating the farms and making the place habitable.This is the other side of Rundugai, farther away from the Hai district headquarters. The wetlands extend downstream to the sugar cane estates managed by TPC Limited and Nyumba ya Mungu dam many kilometres away.

A few metres from the scorched land, are the tall fig trees and other riverine vegetation that would make Rundugai not  an all that bad area for people who need to settle there or investors.

Prof. Iddi Mkilaha, the current director general of the Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission (Taec), a government body based in Arusha, is ready to tell the story of the mysterious water falls.

For the former engineering don with the University of Dar es Salaam, this is not a researched material. Rundugai is his home village. He was born there and grew up in the area before venturing out for education.

He took us to the very sources of the springs. These, according to him, are underground streams that must have originated from Mt. Kilimanjaro or Mt. Meru, some 50 or so kilometres away.
It is at the weakest points on the lowlands that water would gush out due to the pressure and, of course, the gravity. This is a common phenomenon. Underground rivers from the mountains feed several lakes in the area such as Lake Jipe, Chala and Duluti.
But it is at Rundugai where the flow has changed the fortunes of the village which until a few decades ago was sparsely populated. Many of the new settlers originated from Same and Mwanga districts.

At times the underground channels would join together to form one big river that would splash out fresh water, making the area quite suitable for farming and livestock keeping.
One of the water points that has formed what appears to be the biggest stream in the vicinity is about two kilometres from the centre of the village where the Taec boss has his residence.
"This source has been formed by a combination  of at least six underground springs,"  he said,  as he pointed at the still water with a side stream jutting out. The spot could be dangerous for non-swimmers.

Tall fig trees have formed a comfortable shade against the blistering sun. The spot is so important to the residents of the area that they have made it a sacred site.Tree felling  has been prohibited. No wonder the site has turned to be the most revered tourist site for visitors in a zone where foreign tourists can barely be thought of.Tourists from the Far East, probably Koreans or Chinese, had camped at the site and were busy taking photos or enjoying bird life in readiness for breakfast when we stumbled upon one of the water sources one morning.

On the surface, several underground springs would join and, as they flow downstream,  they form major rivers such as Kikuletwa, one of the tributaries of Ruvu river which empties into Nyumba ya Mungu.Much of the Rundugai area was inhabited by the nomadic livestock keepers in the past. Because of poor technologies then, very few farmers could make use of the springs to irrigate their farms.

Many investments initiated during the advent of colonial administration were directed to the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro which enjoyed ample water supplies and good weather conditions for the settlers.

But it was the German missionaries who realized the potential of the area and showed the way its water resources could be tapped to spur socio-economic development for its people.The missionaries realized that the area had a great potential for hydro power generation and started by constructing concrete canals which were to direct water to the turbines to produce electricity.

This was done.It was in the 1930s when the Kikuletwa hydro power station along the conglomeration of streams sprouting from the area and which later formed Kikuletwa river, was built.
According to Prof Mkilaha, at one time the station supplied electricity  to Moshi and Arusha towns.The station was upgraded in the 1950s before it stopped operating in 1984 may be because it appeared to be no longer economical.

A network of canals full of free flowing water are still intact at the site but the power station and its idle machinery appear to be crying for major rehabilitation. The station was run by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (Tanesco) ,which is still in charge of the site.

"It is true this was the first source of hydro electric power for Moshi and Arusha towns,"  he said, without giving further details,  as he pointed to various buildings at the confluence of the canals now gushing water freely downstream.

The closure of the power station, however, did not end the fortunes of Rundugai as it attracted more people. Farmers in particular streamed into the area from neighbouring districts for dryland farming, including cultivation of onions and rice.

One of the potential investors now eying the idle power station is the Arusha Technical College (ATC) which is currently negotiating with the government to acquire the facilities so that it can use it to train technicians in power production.

The college, which recently acquired a new status of an autonomous government institution, also wants to revive the facilities for hydro electricity production from underground springs, according to its principal,  Dr Richard Masika.

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