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Stalled water project irks Lyantonde residents
Health hazard. Patrick Karwemire, a resident of Kabisi village in Lyantonde District, at a pond where both residents and cattle share water. PHOTO BY CLEOPHAS TUKAMARWA.
What you need to know:
Crisis. Clean piped water is only accessible in two sub-counties (Lyantonde Town Council and Lyantonde Rural) out of the seven that make up the district.
LYANTONDE: A multi-billion water project constructed two years ago to extend safe and clean water to the three sub- counties of Kaliiro, Kashagama and Kinuuka in Lyantonde District has failed to serve its intended use, Daily Monitor has established.
The project was funded by the Australian government to the tune of Shs6b. Australia offered 90 per cent of the funds and government contributed 10 per cent. According to the project design, water would be pumped from Lake Kacheera through water pipes for domestic use.
When Daily Monitor visited some water kiosks constructed in different sub-counties, some had been turned into shelter for stray goats and dogs. Although pipes were laid around the targeted areas, residents say accessing clean water has remained a distant dream.
Currently, clean piped water is only accessible in two sub-counties (Lyantonde Town Council and Lyantonde Rural) out of the seven that make up the district.
A reliable source told Daily Monitor that the project has failed to benefit the communities because the district lacks enough funds to buy fuel to power a generator which is used to pump water.
According to Mr Achilles Wasswa Kawooya, a resident of Kaliiro Sub–county, residents who had hope of getting safe and clean water are still sharing unprotected sources with animals.
“We don’t really know what happened to the water project because it is now almost three years since it was launched, but we are not getting water,” Mr Kawooya told this reporter in an interview.
Mr John Zziwa, the speaker of Kaliiro Sub-county, says they have on several occasions tried to contact district authorities about the stalled project, but none is ready to offer an explanation.
“If there is something that went wrong with the project, we should be briefed as leaders so that we tell our people. It really hurts people who look at water kiosks in their villages when they don’t know when they will get water,” he said.
Lyantonde Resident District Commissioner Suleiman Tugulagala Matoojo told Daily Monitor that the project was completed and only waits commissioning.
“What I know is that the water pipes were laid in all the targeted villages, but waiting for commissioning, which I think will be done at a later stage,” Mr Matoojo said.
National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) Lyantonde branch manager Geoffrey Mukalazi, said the project is not under NWSC, referring this reporter to the district officials. “That project is not ours because they have not yet handed over to NWSC. Officials at the district are better suited to answer,” he said.
