Government pledges Sh12 billion for extension of key water project

Arusha. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has agreed to invest more money so that the ambitious Arusha Urban Water Project should be extended to reach Monduli District.

Water minister Jumaa Aweso told residents of Monduli that the government will provide more funds to ensure that the water supply project being executed in Arusha Urban is extended to Monduli, more than 45 kilometres from the City.

The project with a capacity to supply 200 million litres of water once fully accomplished is being executed at the cost of Sh520 billion.

However, in order to extend the pipes to Monduli Township, an additional Sh12 billion is needed which President Hassan has promised to take care of the funding.

Mr Aweso was in Monduli to officially launch another project of conserving the Lake Maweni Water Source located at the center point between Mungere and Majengo Villages of Monduli District, where he assured that the Arusha-Monduli Water Project will soon be realised.

“The ministry already has pooled Sh500 million towards the execution of the extended water project for Monduli and therefore the Director of Arusha Urban Water Supply Authority (Auwsa) should mobilise workers immediately,” he directed.

“On my way here, I managed to speak with the President on phone and she assured me that funds towards the project have been set aside and what is currently needed is for the works to commence,” Mr Aweso said.

According to the minister, Tanzania has reserves of 126 billion cubic litres of water which when shared between the population of 60 million residents may not be adequate thus responsible usage of water was important to make the resource sustainable.

“As the population increases, water reserves shrink, therefore we must be careful in ensuring that we take care of the little we have in order not to suffer acute shortages in future, I don’t want my Ministry to be labelled as ‘Ministry of Drought.”

Earlier, Monduli District Commissioner Frank Mwaisumbe revealed that, it is only 68 percent of the precinct that gets clean water supply, therefore the proposed extension of the Arusha Urban Water Supply Project to Monduli was a welcome idea.

“The project will solve the water problems in the district by 100 percent, in fact we may even have surplus,” said Mwaisumbe.

The DC also appealed to the Minister to ensure that water supply project is extended to Miserani and Mswakini Wards where recent two secondary schools were constructed at the cost of Sh600 million.

In addition, Mr Aweso directed the Monduli Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency Manager, Mr Neville Msaki, to invest Sh136 million from their coffers to drill auxiliary wells as well as building new supply pipelines to extend services to local villages.