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Tanzania: Financial Woes Bedevil Water Agencies
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The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
18 March 2008
Posted to the web 18 March 2008
Pius Rugonzibwa
Dar es Salaam
Local urban water authorities are facing viability problems resulting from lack of funds with some reportedly failing to even pay salaries, let alone provide essential services to residents.
Impeccable sources within the authorities revealed to The Citizen in Dar es Salaam during the weeklong water exhibitions that some water bodies were operating way below 50 per cent, with others now reportedly relying on central government to pay employees.
And the situation not only stalls government's pledge to provide 70 per cent of rural dwellers with clean water by 2010, but also pose a health to many who solely depend on the authorities for domestic water and sewage disposal.
"The current crisis within most water authorities is really terrible and very disturbing. In the most hit areas service provision is around 30 to 40 per cent.
"There are burst pipes all over and we can go without water for weeks while burst pipes are unattended. We also now get salaries from central government," said one employee preferring anonymity.
According to some exhibitors during the water show worst hit water authorities include Lindi and Babati in Manyara region.
In Lindi officials accuse the public of vandalising equipment, while in Bahati, a relatively new region, the agency is dogged by alleged inefficiency resulting from lack of funds to generate enough water for domestic and commercial uses.
Others affected regions are Singida, Mtwara, Suimbawanga, Songea, Kigoma, Musoma, Shinyanga and Mwanza, which are said to be generating less than 50 percent of total water needs for their respective consumers.
Reliable sources also cited Dar es Salaam, Iringa and Kigoma as regions losing over 50 percent of water supply each day as a result of improper infrastructure and unattended burst pipes.
Normally, wastages are expected to be 20 percent of the total supply.
Only Arusha, Moshi and Tanga were said to be offering better services at recommendable standards.
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The problems facing the authorities are despite the increasing revenues collected in most regions annually. For instance in 1998 the total revenue was Sh4.8 billion, and this shot up to a significant Sh26.5 billion in 2007.
But sources accuse officials of overspending on 'less significant' things at the expense of their core business, a habit that was said to be eroding revenue collected.
Meanwhile, authorities indicated during the exhibition that $951 million would be needed for effective implementation of the water sector development program from 2006 to 2010. Development partners were requested to provide $700 million of the total amount.
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