Moshi — RESIDENTS of Mwanga District in Kilimanjaro Region will have more access to clean and safe water within the next five years, an official revealed here on Wednesday.

Mwanga District Water Engineer, Mr Juma Yahya, said there were several projects underway aimed at boosting water supply from 58 per cent at present to over 85 per cent in the next five years.

Mr Yahaya explained that there were 29 water projects in the district of which twenty are gravity schemes, while the remaining nine are deep water boreholes which are under the Water Sector Development Programme.

He said plans were afoot to construct water projects at the cost of 1.3bn/- in ten villages in the district, namely Mgagao, Kisangara, Toloha, Butu, Msangeni, Shighatini, Kisanjuni, Vuagha, Lomwe and Ndorwe. He said three projects have been lined up for implementation this financial year in Kisangara, Shighatini and Msangeni villages.

He said 30,000 villagers would benefit on completion of the water projects, adding that during the last presidential campaign, President Jakaya Kikwete pledged to support the 34bn/- Mwanga- Same Water Projects.

Mr Yahaya has highly commended development partners who have shown commitment in water supply development in the district, naming them as Mwanga Constituency Development Fund, UNDP, Tanganyika Christian Refugees Services, Tanzania National Parks, Mr Mustapha Sabodo and Mwanga legislator, Prof Jumanne Maghembe who is also the Minister for Water.

He said climate change and environmental degradation around water sources and springs as some of the challenges facing the district water department.