Is the long battle on Kidunda Dam Project finally over?

Dar es Salaam. Residents of Dar es Salaam would not be discussing water problems today if the Kidunda Dam Project had gone ahead as planned.

The Sh329.5 billion project located in Morogoro Rural District has for many years been delayed for different reasons.

The project is designed to improve water supply, control floods, improve irrigation, improve fishing, and address several other issues.

But, reasons that could be behind the delay include conservationists’ concern that the project will negatively impact the flow of water in Rufiji River and eventually affect flora and fauna in the Selous Game Reserve.

However, in 2017, the then minister for Water and Irrigation, Mr Gerson Lwenge, maintained there was scientific proof that the project would not affect the game reserve ecosystem.

However, funding was another reason, forcing the Dar es Salaam Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (Dawasa) to secure funding from domestic and foreign stakeholders.

In 2018, Dawasa was reported to have sealed a funding deal with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

That was four years after the Chinese government’s commitment to provide a Sh320 billion ($200 million) soft loan for the project.

This year, the China Gezhouba Group Company Limited filed a case aimed at blocking Dawasa from awarding the tender to Sinohydro, claiming unfair disqualification from the tender process.

However, Sinohydro Corporation Limited was declared by the court as the sole project executor following the dismissal of the Public Procurement Appeals Authority (PPAA).

In 2014, the Parliament was told that Sh7.9 billion had been allocated for compensating residents of Selembala and Mkulazi wards to pave the way for the project’s implementation.

With all eyes on the project, President Samia Suluhu Hassan believes that Kidunda Dam is the only permanent solution to the water shortage facing Dar es Salaam and the Coast regions.

“The government is aware that the Kigamboni Water Project is a temporary solution, but the Kidunda Dam Project is a reliable solution,” she said.

She said the dam has been on the lips of Tanzanians for many years, but the country is now going to implement the project using domestic funds.

“The contract has been signed, and today the contractor has been handed the site for the project’s implementation. My hope is that the contractor will be well supervised in order to deliver in accordance with agreed standards,” she said.

“Already, Sh100 billion has been released out of the Sh329.5 billion required. More disbursements will be done as the budget evolves,” she added. According to her, the project will be completed after 36 months.

Furthermore, she stated that once completed, the dam will prevent Dar es Salaam and its suburbs from experiencing water shortages for three years.

President Hassan revealed that in the 1990s, she was among the members of a committee that was formed to investigate how rainwater could be harvested.

However, she said the committees’ recommendations remain unimplemented, “We should thank God that we are alive today to implement the recommendations. God should punish us for any failure,” she said during the event aimed at launching the Kigamboni Water Project.

Also, the function was intended to hand over water drilling and dam construction equipment as well as the dam construction site to prospective contractors.

She raised concerns about the project’s execution supervision with Water Minister Jumaa Aweso and the docket’s Permanent Secretary Anthony Sanga.

“Sometimes tests are taken before drilling wells, but no water comes out after completion of the work. With this equipment, the minister and PS will be held accountable. They will only be guaranteed their job, if they report the incidents after they have taken action,” she said.

Mr. Aweso stated at the event that Tanzania has 126 billion cubic meters of water resources, 105 billion of which are on the surface and 21 billion are underground.

“We don’t have any challenges with water availability. We have implemented 114 projects worth Sh104 of the Sh139 billion that have been disbursed by the government out of the Sh1.3 trillion in soft loans secured during Covid-19,” he said.

For his part, Mr Sanga said the increased number of livestock in the Ruvu-Wami River Basin, bush fires, and deforestation were major challenges affecting access to clean and safe water in Dar es Salaam and the Coast Regions.

According to him, Sh35 billion has to be procured in equipment for well drilling, dam construction, and water testing.