The Association of Rural Cooperation in Africa and Latin America (Acra) has advised the responsible authorities to transfer water projects and its supply systems to the community under their water user’s entities for sustainability.

Acra Country Coordinator for Tanzania Luca Todeschini said most of the water projects especially in rural areas perished due to lack of community ownership and financial support to take care of it.

He was speaking in Iringa on Monday during a two-day water point mapping stakeholders workshop, which involved eight local government authorities, international NGOs and representatives from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

The workshop was intended to bring together water stakeholders so that they could share experience and come up with common understanding on the implementing of water point mapping systems.

“Water point mapping is an essential tool towards the achievement of water sector development programme to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” he said.

He noted that after a water project was constructed by the government or NGO it should be handed over to the community in charge of its operations and maintenance.

According to him, water is a common good and fundamental human right, which should be made available to everyone.

He said Acra was working with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation to improve water services and ensure availability of many water points.

Meanwhile, assistant director in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Eng Gibson Kisaka, said water was crucial towards achieving the MDGs.

He said water point mapping systems would be done in 60 local government authorities countrywide before the end of December this year. He said the project would be implemented by district water engineers under the government’s Water Sector Development Proggramme (WSDP).

He said local communities would be educated on water point management and make sure they were responsible for its management and maintenance.

Acra is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1968 and is funded by the Italian government and the European Union. It has been working to support water and sanitation services in the country since 2005 with projects in Iringa and Zanzibar.