Spare no effort to make water available to all

Water is life. That is a truism, which should be quickly followed up by the expression, “needless to say,” yet in Tanzania’s case – a country with countless rivers and home to three of Africa’s largest fresh water lakes—constraints that water supply efforts have to contend with would give an alien the idea that we consider this liquid a luxury.

Sources from which Tanzania could tap to ensure every one of its 45 million people has enough safe and clean water are the envy of Africa. It means we lack the right approaches and, one may say, the right political will.

Year in, year out, we have impressive plans and pledges, so much that in the run-up to the 2010 General Election , for instance, Dar es Salaam residents were told that come 2013, water woes would be history. That hasn’t happened, of course.

The Opposition lamented on Saturday in Parliament over government’s failure to release $284.5 million which would have facilitated the first phase of the national water programme. A section of the press yesterday came out with a headline suggesting Water minister Jumanne Maghembe “owes the people” $284 million.

Of course, let us be fair with the minister. The poor funding of the water is not about him. It is about the whole spectrum of our governance that is failing to give water the attention it deserves. Presenting his ministry’s estimates yesterday, Prof Maghembe revealed that only a paltry 27 per cent of money meant for development was made available for the just-ending fiscal year!

That is not the way to supply every Tanzanian with water. We have good plans, but people cannot drink and take a bath with good plans. Yet, getting ample clean water is a human right. We are certain the Bunge will endorse Prof Maghembe’s Sh520.9 billion Budget, but we can only hope and pray that the money will be disbursed.