Why water was one of President Magufuli's worst headache in first five-year term

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli on Friday named the Ministry of Water as the docket that upset him the most during his first five years in office.

The Head of State, who came to power on November 5, 2015, announced his first Cabinet of Ministers on December 10, 2015 appointing Prof Makame Mbarawa as the minister of Water and Irrigation, with Isaac Kamwelwe as the deputy.

On December 23, 2015, President Magufuli, while filling the remaining vacancies in the Cabinet, shifted Prof Mbarawa from the Ministry of Water and appointed him to the ministry of Works, Transport and Communications replacing him with Gerson Lwenge.

Mr Lwenge also did not last long in the docket, as in October 2017 he was removed and replaced by his former deputy, Isaac Kamwelwe, whose deputy became Jumaa Aweso.

In July 2018, the Ministry of Water got a new Minister whereby, Prof Mbarawa was given another chance in the docket, in exchange with Mr Kamwelwe who took over the Works, Transport and Communications ministry.

However, in his second term as President Dr Magufuli appointed Jumaa Aweso as the Minister of Water ejecting Mbarawa from the Cabinet entirely.

On Friday January 29,  President Magufuli revealed the secret behind those changes in the water docket, adding that it was the one that upset him the most in his first term as the Head of State, as he addressed the people of Kagongwa town in Kahama District while inaugurating a Sh23.15-billion-water project.

Dr Magufuli said in the last five years most of the Ministry of Water’s projects were not completed, whereby performance did not exceed 30 percent of all projects launched despite the high cost.

“I want you and your executives within the ministry and all engineers across the country who deal with water to ensure the projects that exist in your areas are completed within the stipulated time or even earlier,” Dr Magufuli directed.

The President revealed that he was aware of how the Same-Mwanga-Korogwe Major Water Project was being implemented and said that it could have led to the dismissal of Minister Aweso, thanks to the latter’s speedy action against the contractors.

Recently, the Ministry of Water handed over the project to the Dar es Salaam Water and Sanitation Authority (Dawasa) after terminating the contract with the previous contractors.

The water project, which is expected to cost Sh262 billion once completed, was being executed by two contractors; M.A. Kharafi & Sons and Badr East Africa Enterprises, and both had their contract terminated end of 2020 after both appeared to be failing in implementing the project and for having issues with their contractual documents and how they sourced funds.

The Head of State commended Mr Aweso for terminating the contractors’ agreement and hinted that for the minister to keep his job he must maintain the pace.

“I’m thankful that you have started taking action against fake contractors in Mwanga by firing them because if you delayed, I would have fired you,” President Magufuli told Mr Aweso. “Now it is better to have those who delay you dismissed, because they did not come to play, but to work,” he added.

He went on to tell Mr Aweso to address the Board of Contractors through Act No. 17 of 1997 to ensure that the contractors who were fired cannot engage in any work across the country.

“Since we also have a partnership in East Africa, send their names over there. We do not need fraudulent contractors in this country. We want people who are given Tanzanian money to use it accordingly,” said President Magufuli.

Speaking on the water project that would serve the towns of Kagongwa and Isaka in Kahama District, President Magufuli said the long-term water crisis would eventually end.

“Before this construction, the towns of Kagongwa and Isaka were in dire need of water. Demand was 4,609,000 litres.

This project has the capacity to produce 9,832,600 litres of water per day. This means there is more than 113.33 percent of extra water, which is why we decided this project to serve the remaining 22 villages with a population of about 63,000,” said Dr Magufuli.

He commended the Kahama Water Agency (Kashiwasha) for reducing the cost of the planned project from Sh24.7 billion to Sh23.1 billion.

“This means that you have saved Sh1.566 billion. Congratulations Kashiwasha,” he said.

As a result, he instructed the Minister of Water, Juma Aweso to use the remaining money in the project to divert water and supply it to all nearby villages.