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Clean, safe water still a preserve of 50pc of population
2007-10-20 09:32:20
By Felister Peter
About half of Tanzania`s population has no access to clean and safe water and adequate sanitation, posing serious threat to their health and livelihood, especially for women and female children.
The situation contributes to undermining poverty eradication strategies as most of the people spend their time searching for water.
Opening the second Joint Water Sector Review in Dar es Salaam on Thursday Water minister Shukuru Kawambwa said Tanzania would hardly meet the targets of the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) for water supply and sanitation.
`We only have three more years. We also need to stay on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015`, he said.
The minister said as most of the people would be spending much of their time searching for water; other development activities would not be adequately attended to.
He said there was also a need for those who had access to water and sanitation services to ensure the services were improved and sustained while remaining affordable.
NSGRP targets for the water sector are to increase the proportion of the rural population with access to clean and safe water from 53 per cent in 2003 to 65 per cent in 2009/10, and increase the proportion of urban population from 73 per cent in 2003 to 90 per cent in 2009/10.
However, Water ministry permanent secretary Patrick Rutabanzibwa said the absence of investors in the water sector was a major cause of delayed development of the sector.
He said Tanzania had a lot of water compared to other African countries but it lacked investors because it was not attractive for business.
Once an investor decided to invest in water services they would have to sell water at a price that could not be afforded by many people.
Rutabanzibwa said implementation of the Water Sector Development (WSD) programme and other initiative in the sector required stable planning, financing and availability of adequate funds for capital investments.
He cited Dar es Salaam Region as one among areas that had enough underground water but it had failed to utilize it due to financial constraints.
The water sources were available at Kimbiji, Mpiji and Mpera areas.
He said so far the drilling is ready. The problem is money for construction of circulation system, promising to start supplying the water within two years.
Speaking on behalf of the Civil Society Organizations Andambike Kyomo from the Southern Highlands Participatory Organization (SHIPO) based in Njombe, highlighted challenges and proposed solutions for water development.
He suggested that a strategy to make data on budget allocations and monitor disbursements should be developed.
This is to ensure that funds from different development partners to the government and from the government to the local authorities are used for water services improvement.
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