On October 9 this year, an unusual event happened in a small town of Mkata, Handeni District in Tanga Region. It was around 9am when hundreds of residents mobilised themselves to block the Mkata-Segera Highway, stopping any vehicle from passing through the town.

Over 300 vehicles, including passenger buses bound for Arusha, Moshi, Tanga, Dar es Salaam and Kenya, were held up for nearly five hours. The angry residents claimed the move was aimed at coercing the police to release a water distribution lorry that had been impounded for not being roadworthy.

Hundreds of innocent passengers were stranded and as tempers flared up Muheza district commissioner and Tanga regional police commander arrived at the scene to calm the situation.

A police vehicle that was sent to clear the road was stoned as the residents insisted that their lorry be released unconditionally. Presidential visit

The residents even demanded that President Jakaya Kikwete visit the town to witness the sufferings they have endured for years due to lack of water in the area.

They accused some local leaders who sell water in the area of colluding with the police to ban some lorries that distribute water so that they could monopolise the lucrative business.

However, The Citizen has established that there is a much bigger picture of serious sufferings due to non availability of water at Msata. One sad aspect of water shortage at Mkata is that the whole ward with a population of about 53,000 residents does not have a single clean water borehole.

They mainly rely on muddy water from pit wells and to get clean water one has to buy it from vending lorries at Sh400 and Sh500 for a 20-litre bucket.

When the lorries develop mechanical problems or are impounded by the police for traffic reasons, the residents will not be able to get clean water.

Serious problem "Water scarcity is really a serious problem facing us for many years. More than 90 per cent of us depend on wells for water," Mr Athumani Bakari, 43, who lived at the ward for 30 years, said. At Mkata, water pipes were installed in 1974 but this has not translated into availability of clean water for residents.

"We do not have any guarantee of getting water here. We normally get water flowing in the taps once in three months and sometimes nothing at all. If you make a follow up you won't get a satisfactory answer. Now we can't understand what is going on," another resident said.

"We have lorries bringing us clean water here. Now, if the government has failed to supply us with water and it is impounding the lorries, how are we going to get water?" asked Bakari.

He says the fact that most families in the ward are forced to spend much of what they earn to buy water, calls for government's intervention. "We cannot afford buying a bucket of water for Sh400," says Bakari.

It is evident that the lack of water at Mkata ward has had serious and devastating consequences on the residents there, mainly women and children.

A survey by The Citizen has established that cholera has persisted at the area for over two months since mid August.

Local authorities

The residents say at least six people have died of cholera since the outbreak. Consequently, local authorities have banned selling of foods in public places, a move that affects women most since they are doing the business of selling food around the town.

The Chief Medical Officer for Mkata Ward, Dr Edward Mushi, admitted in an interview with The Citizen that the outbreak and persistence of cholera and other water-borne diseases was mainly due to an acute shortage of clean water. "For the last two years which I have been here, lack of clean water has become the main cause for the outbreak of diarrhoea diseases," the doctor said.

According to the doctor, at least 500 patients have been admitted to Mkata Health Centre for treatment since the outbreak of the disease two months ago. While the doctor says three residents have died of the disease, most of the residents who spoke to The Citizen dispute the figure, saying cholera has claimed more than six lives since it broke out.

"We have done everything we can on our part to treat the patients but they kept on coming to the hospital day after day. There is no doubt that lack of water is fuelling the spread of the disease. The situation might worsen because water shortage is becoming a chronic problem in our area," he said.

He says sometimes his hospital is overwhelmed by the number of patients admitted there with cholera. On the other side, the doctor says water scarcity was responsible for the increase in micronutrients diseases as it has become almost impossible for residents to grow vegetables in their back yards.

He says he has noticed that many children suffer from malnutrition and lack of protein and skin diseases due to lack of essential nutrients that can be obtained from green vegetables.

"I'm sure that lack of green vegetables has contributed to a high rate of skin and diarrhoea diseases among many resident here, he says.

A visit around Mkata ward tells how women and children are subjected to all sorts of sufferings and frustrations as they are forced to walk long distances to search for water, thus spending most of the time going around looking for water. Searching for water has forced them to abandon other development activities that could otherwise help them change their lives and improve their household incomes.

Khadija Mohamed, 52, a mother of ten who normally uses 13 buckets of water says she spends a minimum of Sh2,000 everyday to buy water for cooking and drinking.

"Just think about how difficult it is for a village woman to get Sh500 per day and imagine the pain of paying Sh2,000 everyday to buy water," Khadija complains.

Another woman Fatma Aweso, 30, says she even can't tell how she suffers daily to make sure that her family of 8 persons gets water.

"Availability of water is a serious problem here. I'm forced to come to the well six times a day. As if this is not enough, I have to spend Sh1,000 everyday to buy two buckets of water from lorries for drinking and cooking."

The women pleaded with the government to open its eyes and find a lasting solution to their problems. "That's why cholera never ends in our town. Every year there is an outbreak of cholera," she says. At Mkata, most of water holes are hollow and prone to contamination.

"If they cannot supply us with water they should at least help us with chemicals to treat water in the wells," Aweso complained.

Sells water

Mwangasi Muhidini who sells water with the lorry that was at the centre of violence between the police and the residents on October 9, says despite making profit out of the problem, he really sympathises with women who come to him but unable to pay a single cent to buy water.

"The main problem I face in my business here is that most women can't afford to pay Sh 500 to buy water and they end up asking for help to get free water. They don't have money. Sometimes I have to give them water for free," he says.

Councillor for Mkata ward, Mr Musa Mwanyimbu, like many other local leaders who talked to The Citizen, admitted that the shortage of water is the main problem facing the locals.

"We do not have reliable sources of water. We have water pipes all over the town and we still can't rely on them. They give us water today wait for six months to get water again," he says.

Mkata is served by Handeni Trucks Main (HTM) Project, a Handeni district water project drawing water from river pangani. The project however has failed to serve its original population because the infrastructure is worn out and no rehabilitation has been carried out.

The project whose construction started in 1974 and largely financed by West Germany government is facing a number of problems including leakages in pipes and valves due to rusting and vandalism, aging of pumping units, leakage of storage tanks, improper laying of pipes to some of the places and insufficient communication system.

Feasibility study

According to the councillor, a feasibility study was now being carried out by GTZ in order to rehabilitate the project and that the consultant for the job is already on the ground doing his job. "When this project was implemented there was a very low population but today the number of subscribers has quadrupled compared with the time the project star ted." the councillor says.

He admitted that poor water infrastructure and the wearing out of the water supply equipment were much to blame for the miseries caused by an acute shortage of water. But according to him, district authorities already have initiated long and short-term strategies to end the water crisis in the area.

Mr Mwanyumbu said two water pumps have been bought at a cost of Sh120 million to boost water supply and they were fixed in July and they are now functioning.

He says the ministry of water too has allocated Sh186 million for the repair of the infrastructure. "The rehabilitation has already started and air pipes are being changed at Mkata. A saddening aspect of water shortage at Mkata is that there isn't a single modern water hole despite there being several projects funded by the government and international organisation for construction of wells.

A typical example was a Sh200 million World Bank (WB) funded project for digging of wells and laying water pipes in 2006 which to date has not been implemented. The residents have not benefited from the project as the project was abandoned.

The Muheza District Council this year set aside Sh 43 million for digging 10 water holes in the district, two for Mkata and other villages. "It is very unfortunate that the wells have been dug but there is no sign of water.

They were dug with a pickaxe. Do we really dig a well with a pickaxe and expect to get water?" the councillor wondered.

Huge amount

He is unhappy that a huge amount of money is being spent on digging of modern wells but the residents have not enjoyed the outcome.

The councillor poured blame on contractors for digging substandard wells. Most of them, he says, do not have basic equipment to execute the projects.

He blamed district council tender boards for awarding the tenders involving water projects to unqualified companies.

"The main problem is that councillors are not sitting in the tender boards. It is only the experts who decide. We do not have any say as to who should be awarded tenders," he says.

"Many district tender boards are in trouble. They award tenders to bogus and unqualified companies which lack equipment."

A report on the implementation of activities by water department for July to September 2009 shows that the Handeni District has directed Sh162 million to water projects.

Out of the amount, Sh46 million has been set aside for digging of wells for the whole district, with Mkata allocated only Sh 9 million for digging two wells. However, as the year comes to an end, no single well has been dug in the district.

There is another reliable water source at Kitumbi Village, just 15 kilometres from Mkata. According to the councillor, the Government has promised to buy machines to pump water from there.

"Officials from the ministry came here to assess the source and found it feasible for Mkata and surrounding villages," he says.

Election campaign

At the height of his presidential campaign in 2005 President Jakaya Kikwete visited Mkata and he was told of horrible water problems in the area. President Kikwete promised the residents at a campaign rally: "I'm aware that the main problem here is water and I will try my best to make sure clean water reaches your homes."

"I do not want to believe that the president deceived us and took advantage of our sufferings to win votes. We still believe he will do his best to bring us water before next general elections," Mwasiti Dimoso, 47, lamented