Belgian-supported water activities in Kigoma region

The Governments of Tanzania and Belgium are working together to improve water supply services and sanitation in Kigoma region.

Yesterday, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Madam Samia Suluhu Hassan, inaugurated Kakonko-Kiziguzigu scheme, one of the water supply infrastructure projects being supported by Belgium in Kigoma region.

The two governments signed a 6-year specific agreement to implement a sustainability-focussed water programme on July 17, 2017.

The programme, financed through Enabel, the Belgian development agency, was developed to foster rehabilitation of existing water structures and expand services to unserved areas while developing the capacity of communities to ensure that the services are sustainably managed.

The initial financial envelope from the Belgian State was eight million euro and later it increased to twelve million, targeting selected commu-nities in all the six Districts of the region.

At the end of the intervention, a population of 208,000 from 22 villag-es will have access to potable drink-ing water and improve their hygiene practices for safe water management of at household level.

Currently, works are ongoing and are at different stages. Five completely new schemes are constructed, one is undergoing major rehabilitation while the other is being expanded to reach more people.

With the Belgian funding, Enabel is providing support to strengthen institutional capacity of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) at the regional and dis-trict levels in Kigoma.

RUWASA is the principal implementer and collabora-tor in this project. Enabel has supported RUWASA with office and construction equip-ment besides supporting its training needs.

At present, it is working with RUWASA regional office to establish a Centre of Excellence in Kigoma. The centre will be an operational resource facility that supports communities to manage their water schemes sustain-ably. The programme has also facilitated the establishment and registration of six community-based water supply organizations (CBWSOs) which will be responsible for managing the water schemes when operational.

Enabel is also financing construction of office spaces for the CBWSOs, and it is implementing a program for their capacity development. To ensure that water sources are sustained for the community schemes, the project is supporting Lake Tanganyika Basin Water Board in its mandate to establish and strengthen Water User Associations (WUA).

It is further supporting the Basin Water Board to demarcate sub-catchment areas and make WUAs more visible and easily accessible in the target-ed catchments through construction of WUA centres.

The programme has also embarked on promotion of hygiene and sanitation through a campaign being managed by the Tanzania Red Cross Society.

Enabel implements Belgium’s gov-ernmental cooperation and works for other national and international donors. With its partners in Belgium and abroad, Enabel offers solutions to address pressing global challenges including, Climate Change, Urbani-sation, Human Mobility, Peace, and Security, Economic and Social Ine-quality, and to promote Global Citizenship.

With over 2,000 staff mem-bers, Enabel manages about 170 projects in twenty countries, in Belgium, Africa and the Middle East.The following are the water and sanitation activities as supported by the Belgian government through Ena-bel in Kigoma region.

Construction of Kakonko-Kiziguzigu Water Scheme in Kakonko District

Through joint funding from the Tanzanian and Belgian governments, a new water supply in Kakonko has been constructed to a value of 1.87 million euro. The scheme is set to be commissioned. The scheme in Kakonko is a breakthrough water project that has been realized after a long search for a reliable water source for Kakonko Town and surrounding communities.

Water development for the district has been difficult to achieve due to inadequate water sources. Mgembezi River, about 21km from Kakonko town, was the most obvious source to develop.

Given the distance, developing a scheme from this source for Kakonko and surrounding areas was always going to be an expensive venture. In August 2020, the Belgian government therefore, released additional funding to Enabel to increase the budget for the water and sanitation programme in Kigoma region, to ensure that places like Kakonko have water supply services that meet the demand of its fast-growing population.

“It was difficult to identify relia-ble sources to develop. After sever-al surveys supported by Enabel, we finally identified the two sites where the Government of Tanzania through RUWASA, drilled the two boreholes, now the source of this scheme”, says Eng. Mathias Mwenda, RUWASA Regional Manager.

The scheme has a raising main of 5.1 kms from Kasuga while another line of 9.1 kms from Nyakayenzi where two boreholes were drilled as the sources for this scheme. Two water storage tanks of 500 cubic meters each are completed, located near the District Executive Director’s offices at Kakonko.

One of the tanks is serving Kakonko Town and the other is serving Kiziguzigu Ward. A total of 65.1 kms have been constructed as well as distribution points in Kiziguzigu.

The Kakonko-Kiziguzigu Water Scheme in Kakonko District will serve a population of 51,280 from Nyakayenzi, Kasuga, Kakonko Town and three villages in Kiziguzigu Ward. The total cost of the scheme is 1.87 million euro and has been constructed through Force Account.

Rehabilitation and extension of Mkon-goro gravity-fed scheme project

Through a works contract awarded to Serengeti Limited, Enabel in collaboration with the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) is rehabilitating the existing water supply infrastructure and extending it to provide potable water supply services to 7 villages in Kigoma rural district.

A new intake structure on Nyete riv-er has been constructed, 600 meters upstream and away from a foot river crossing area. The project is also constructing new water treatment struc-tures comprising of two sedimentation units and a dosing tank so that the water is properly treated before it is distributed for human consumption.

One hundred and thirty-four distribution/ water points have been constructed with a provision for pri-vate connections across the seven villages of a total population of 53,500. Five storage tanks are being rehabilitated with one demolished and a new one constructed instead.

The overall physical progress of the works at this scheme is at 94%. It is estimated that the remaining works will require 8 weeks to be completed. The status of different structures is as follows: construction of the new intake is at 80%; the treatment plant is at 80%; the doing tank 50% completed; installation of distribution lines of a total length of 18.6km and transmission lines of 22.7 kms is 98% completed while rehabilitation and construction of water points are at 96%.

Rehabilitation of tanks is at present at 82%. At the end of the project, it is expected that Enabel will spend a total of 1.12 million euros.The extent of rehabilitation works on this water scheme was underesti-mated, especially on the storage tanks and distribution network.

Some of tanks required demolishing and con-structing new ones. Most sections of the distribution lines had undetected holes that necessitated excavations and installation of new pipes. The scheme, the largest in terms of service area and population in Kigoma rural district, did not have the treatment facility before.

Mwayaya Pumping Water Supply Project

Under the Tanzania-Belgium bilat-eral program, a new water supply scheme in Mwayaya village in Buhig-we District, has been constructed. The communities are now accessing safe drinking water, thanks to this joint program. Mwayaya pumping water scheme was initially planned to be rehabilitated.

After a reconnaissance mission, the project management team noted that the scheme had outlived its design life and the original source was not sufficient to meet the water demand.

Through Enabel, the Belgian government funded design studies which were done by Howard Consulting Limited and tendering of the works was concluded in October 2020.

The works contract was awarded to Gopa Contractors Limited which started operations in November 2020, with UWP Consulting Limited as the project engineers. The scheme is designed to serve a population of 19,000 people.

The works under this contract involve construction of an intake and protective structures at Kivuruga stream, water treatment facilities; a transmission pipeline of 3,250 kms; construction of a water storage tank of 400 cubic meters; construction of a distribution net-work of 23,166 kms and 31 distribu-tion points.

Execution of works faced some administrative challenges but after they were resolved, construction of the scheme was practically com-pleted in April 2022. The total cost of the project is 965,617 euros.

Besides the scheme, Enabel has financed construction of an office building for the Community-based Water Supply Organization (CBWSO) which is now managing the scheme.

It is also supporting capacity strength-ening of the Water User Association (WUA) in Mwayaya to ensure that the sub-catchment of the water source is protected. Other activities of the project in Mwayaya include construction of an office building for the WUA and support to Lake Tanganyika Basin Water Board in demarcation of the subcatchment of the water source for the scheme.

Kazuramimba Water Supply Con-struction Project

The regional water project in Kigoma is also constructing a water supply scheme at Kazuramimba in Uvinza District. Like other schemes that were targeted in the region, this scheme was planned for rehabilitation.

However, the condition of the infrastructure necessitated change to original plans. With a dried-up source for the scheme, the project embarked on groundwater surveys in Kazuramim-ba where two were identified and production boreholes were drilled.

SHER Group of planning and supervision engineers from Belgium did design studies leading to a tendering process in September 2020 where Nangai Engineering and Contractors Limited was award a contract to construct the scheme under the supervision of UWP Consulting Limited.

Due to administrative reasons and third-party effects in delivery of the water storage tank material, the pro-ject has delayed to close.

At present however, the scheme has completed installation of pipes for two trans-mission lines from Laba and Rubo-na pumping stations located 1.8 kms each from the water storage tank. It has also completed installation of distribution lines of 30,345m long and construction of 35 distribution points.

Installation of a riser water storage tank of 480 cubic meters made of GRP is underway. All works are expect-ed to close by mid-November 2022. When completed, the project will cost about 889,000 euro and will serve a population of just over 40,000.

Kifura Water Scheme Project

This another project in Kigoma that is being financed by the Belgian government through Enabel. Kifura water supply scheme is in Kibondo District and is a surface water development project.

Its source is Mkuti River, and it is new, contrary to the original plans in the technical and financial file. The scheme was initially designed by SHER Group of planning and supervision engineers from Belgium but later validated by Howard Consulting Limited.

A works contract was award to the consortium of Nangai Engineering and Msukwa Contractors with Nor-plan Limited as its project engineers. Works on this scheme started on 2 August 2021 and was due to close in February.

However, due to excessive water in the wetland where through which Mkuti river passes, and due to some administrative challenges, timely completion of the works has not been possible.

Kidyama Water Supply Construction Project

Enabel is financing the construc-tion of a gravityfed water supply scheme at Kidyama in Kasulu Dis-trict. With a total of 17,251 of a transmission line and 32,065 meters of distribution system, the scheme will serve part of the urban area as well as the peripheral of Kasulu town.

Construction has just started under a works contract that was awarded to Gopa Contractors Limited to a tune of 1.49 million euro. It is expected that construction of this new water supply scheme will be completed in March 2023, and it will serve a population of 23,000 residents in Kasulu.

Extension of Nyansha and Nyantale Water Supply Scheme

The Belgian government through Enabel is funding an extension of water supply service into the village of Mdyanda in Kasulu District through Force Account. The Mdyanda project is a groundwater development.

The Ministry of Water through RUWASA has drilled a production borehole to be an additional source for an existing water supply system. The existing water supply is not suf-ficient for the communities of Nyan-sha and Nyantale, much less for the people of Mdyanda who are in the peripheral of these two villages.

The current distribution network is 22,366 meters long and covers Mdyanda village

Enabel has constructed a 500 cubic meter water storage tank and a pump house and expects to construct a transmission line of 840 meters and connect it to the existing network.

The financier speaks

The Belgian Ambassador in Tanzania, Peter Huyghebaert says that one of their greatest points of pride is to see now that the districts of Kigoma region and other areas are getting clean and safe drinking water services.

Asked why pick Kigoma region, the ambassador explains, “We chose the Kigoma because of the increase in population, but secondly because the region is one of priorities of the Tanzanian Government in the imple-mentation of its policies, especially in the improvement of social services, so it has been a good thing for us to put it also in our plans”.

The ambassador says that the water supply programme will help grow the economy and open various commercial opportunities for the people of Kigoma.

On his part, the Resident Representative of Enabel Organization, Koen Goekint says that in general the implementation of the project has been successful because they have received great cooperation from the Kigoma Regional Administration Secretariat where the programme is anchored; from RUWASA and the local government authorities in the region.

“The water programme in Kigoma region project will reduce the burden on mothers who would have to walk more than three kilometers to find water and instead they will be able to get the water easily and enable them to participate in economic activities,” explains Goekint.

Goekint says the seven water schemes that are currently being implemented will reduce the water challenge for the region despite the fact that there are still many areas with challenges of clean and safe water.

He also explains that in March next year, Belgium expects to sign a new agreement with the Government of Tanzania to start implementing a new bilateral programme that will include support to education, gender, skills development, climate change etc.