Aga Khan, Shia bring smiles to villagers faces

Residents of Mapogolo and Ikongolo Villages in Iringa District should be grinning broadly following completion and launch water projects.

The projects, which were jointly funded by Shia Imami Ismail Community of Tanzania through its Southern Region Council and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), will likely end water woes in the area.

It is estimated that the water projects will be pumping about 5,000 litres per day, serving around 6,000 people in the aforementioned villages.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, Iringa District Water Engineer Lucas Madaha disclosed that the project will benefit 375 households and nearly 3,000 livestock.

Mr Madaha admitted that Iringa District Council had inadequate funds to install solar panels for pumping water and thanked the sponsors for facilitating the projects.

The Shia Imami Ismail Community of Tanzania and AKDN agreed to fund installation of the equipment that have finally enabled water to flow.

According to him, the district had an average of 71.5 per cent of water supply. Mr Madaha said solar powered water projects are cheap to operate, though they were expensive to install.

He said Isimani Member of Parliament (MP), Mr William Lukuvi in collaboration with development partners surveyed the land for digging 80 wells between 2012 and 2016 an 40 wells were dug.

Speaking during the event, Mr Lukuvi reiterated the government’s commitment to end water problems all over the country by 2020. “The wells we are inaugurating today will bring relief to Mapogolo and Ikongolo villagers, but the problem will permanently be solved by distributing gravity water from Mapogolo to other parts of the district.

“The government is working hard to ensure that this is realised in the near future,” he said.

He thanked donors for funding the projects insisting that their funding have showed that they were committed in the country’s development irrespective of people’s race, religion and tribe. Shia Imami Community of Tanzania vice president Mr Kamal Khimji said water supply to the village would free citizens from communicable diseases including cholera, reaffirming the institution’s commitment to continue serving the community.

Reports from the institution had that during celebrations to mark 60 years of the Diamond Jubilee of His Highness the Aga Khan (July 11, 1957 to July 11, 2017), 10 more wells fully equipped with solar panels will be dug in other 10 regions, which would benefit 50,000 people.

For her part, Iringa Regional Commissioner Amina Masenza instructed local government leaders to ensure security of the wells, promising to take legal measures against people who will sabotage the projects.

Meanwhile, the government has allocated a total of Sh1.546 billion to implement water projects in Iringa District Council in this fiscal year.