Mwanza — WATER Minister Jumaa Aweso has suspended the entire management team of the Mwanza Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (MWAUWASA), citing failure to adequately discharge its responsibilities in providing reliable water services to residents of Mwanza City.
Mr Aweso announced the decision yesterday during a working tour of the city, to assess water service delivery.
Prior to the decision, the minister summoned MWAUWASA officials and asked them individually whether they were satisfied with the services being provided by the authority.
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According to the minister, all admitted that they were dissatisfied with the current situation.
"I asked MWAUWASA leaders whether they were satisfied with the services being provided. Each one admitted they were not. If they themselves are not satisfied, how can the citizens who receive those services be satisfied?" he said.
Mr Aweso said the officials' admission was evidence that they had failed to effectively execute their duties.
"In short, they are not satisfied. I told them that since you are in office and are not satisfied, yet your responsibility is to ensure citizens receive clean and safe water, it means the task has become too difficult for you," he said.
He stressed that the government cannot tolerate negligence that affects citizens, noting that many qualified young people remain unemployed while some public servants fail to perform the duties entrusted to them.
As a result, he said the government had decided to suspend the entire management team to pave the way for reforms within the authority.
"We have decided that we must start afresh. If your child is sick and a doctor tells you that a specific medicine is necessary for recovery, you cannot refuse. The medicine for MWAUWASA at this moment is the suspension of the entire leadership," he said.
The minister said the move was intended to rescue both MWAUWASA and residents of Mwanza City, who have long faced challenges in accessing reliable water services.
He assured Nyamagana MP John Nzilanyingi and Ilemela MP William Kafiti that the Ministry of Water would do everything possible to ensure residents receive clean and safe water.
In a separate development, Mr Aweso said residents in some of the areas he visited complained about inflated and inaccurate water bills.
He directed the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water, Ms Mwajuma Waziri, to investigate the complaints and ensure a lasting solution.
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"There is no justification for meter readers to prepare estimated bills when it is possible to record actual water consumption," he said.
Mr Aweso further said the time had come for water authorities across the country to introduce prepaid water services similar to TANESCO's prepaid electricity system.
"A citizen will be able to purchase water through a mobile phone. For example, one can buy water worth 5,000/- and, once that amount is exhausted, simply purchase more," he explained.
He also reiterated the government's directive that all applications for new water connections must be processed within seven days.
"It is unacceptable for someone to apply for a water connection and wait for six months, seven months or even a full year. Such a situation must come to an end," he said.
