Bunda — A major water project in Bunda District has stalled in mysterious circumstances.

Local residents are now expressing doubts whether the construction of the multi-million-shilling dam will ever be completed. The Bunda District Council and Drilling and Dam Construction Agency (DDCA) have been issuing contradictory statements regarding the progress of the project.

Investigations carried out by The Citizen indicate that the Sh920 million dam is far from being complete despite the contractor claiming that the project had been handed over to the Water and Irrigation ministry, which has paid the contractor in full.

The contractor said the ministry was supposed to commission the dam and hand it over to the district council. DDCA official David Songea told The Citizen that the dam had been completed, and the Water and Irrigation ministry should shoulder the blame for the delay in the facility being handed over to the local council.

He, however, admitted that the dam was too small to meet the growing demand for water in the area. The acting district water engineer, Mr Bonas Matekele, however, maintained that the dam had not been completed, and accused the DDCA of "shoddy work".

Checks by The Citizen, however, have established that the dam, which was scheduled to be completed last year, has essentially been abandoned, dashing hopes that the longstanding water shortage in the area was about to end.

Women still have to walk long distances to Lake Victoria to fetch water for domestic use and livestock. Councillors complained bitterly during a recent meeting about the implementation of the water project, but the ministry has yet to respond to their queries.

The dam is mostly surrounded by herders having an estimated 100,000 head of cattle. The herders and their animals move long distances every day in search of water. Many vegetable farmers have bought water pumps to irrigate their farms for lack of a reliable supply of water.

A local resident, Mr Richoye Mwita, said rearing cattle was becoming prohibitively expensive, and appealed for the ministry's intervention. "We haven't got any explanation from the Government on the implementation of the water project despite the fact that we have contributed towards the construction of the dam,"he said.

A local leader, Mr Nyamhanga Mugore, observed that the water facility was gradually falling apart, and would soon be rendered irreparable.