Mbarawa explains strategy for controlling water losses

Dar es Salaam. The government has moved to control water leakages through forming a task force assigned to curb huge water losses in Dar es Salaam.

According to the minister for Water, Prof Makame Mbarawa, the country’s biggest city consumes 502 million litres a day, out of which leakage accounts for 42 million litres.

Prof Mbarawa said that under the World Bank support, the task force members were going to supervise installation of gate metres in each zone that would record daily consumption and losses.

“The gate metres will also curb cheating, because at the moment there are just estimated data on water leakages, showing that there is a daily leakage of 43 per cent. But I don’t think this is the correct figure,” said Prof Mbarawa.

The minister, who was speaking during his tour of Mwananchi Communications Limited headquarters yesterday, also said the government has imposed a directive to Dawasa to allocate part of its monthly income on financing various projects like Kisarawe water development project at more than Sh10 billion and Chalinze-Mboga water development project at Sh9.6 billion.

“We have the project for revamping Dar es Salaam Water Supply System valued at Sh106 billion which will ensure that all people living 50 metres from the main pipeline will get reliable supply of water,” said Prof Mbarawa.

According to him, water sector is among those that have attracted huge financial resources from development partners, annual government budgets and well wishers.

At least Sh4.4 trillion are being spent on accomplishing a number of key water projects in the country, he said.

The government is also implementing other huge water supply projects with spending of multi-billion dollars in the Lake Victoria zone and revamping water sources of Dar es Salaam Region and upper Ruvu, said the responsible minister.

He pointed out that inadequate water supply for domestic and industrial use remained a problem.