Zomba City thirsts amidst plenty

Florida Anderson, 17, was supposed to be studying at home on Sunday; instead, she spent the day and part of the night searching for potable water in the Chikanda area of Zomba City. “The taps are dry but safe water is needed. I could, therefore, not do otherwise but search for water.

Florida Anderson, 17, was supposed to be studying at home on Sunday; instead, she spent the day and part of the night searching for potable water in the Chikanda area of Zomba City.

“The taps are dry but safe water is needed. I could, therefore, not do otherwise but search for water. This is despite that I am preparing for Junior Certificate of Education examinations, which are around the corner,” she says, before excusing herself from the interview.

“I have work to do. I have to find water for drinking and other uses at home,” Anderson emphasises.

She is not alone in this predicament.

Mary Mzeremu, another resident of the city, covered a distance of five kilometres to access water at one of the wells in the Matawale area.

“The taps have been dry but we cannot survive without water,” she laments.

“I, therefore, abandoned my small-scale bakery business to source water, which members of my household of six urgently need,” she said.

In Zomba City, water taps have been dry for days.

At around 8am on Friday, the Southern Region Water Board (SRWB) announced, through a statement, that it had shut down its main plant following a report of vandalism on its main outlet.

When we visited Chikanda location on Saturday, we found people scrambling for the precious liquid.

These included University of Malawi students.

For instance, 23-year-old Chikondi Dyson, who is a first-year student at the university, describes the situation as unfortunate.

“As you have seen, some members of the community, including us, students, are searching for water in rivers, which is not good for our health. How can one drink untreated water from an open source such as a river? I feel that four days is too much for us,” he says.

Chikanda-based community member Dalitso Wyson, who we found washing things in Mponda River, points out that the situation may put community members at risk of contracting cholera.

“This is not safe. Look at me…I wish the problem could be addressed urgently,” he explains.

Jane Phiri, a resident of Chikanda, calls upon SRWB to update the city’s residents on when the situation would normalise.

SRWB Public Relations Manager Ritaa Makwangwala says the board is providing water to residents through bowsers.

Earlier on Friday, SRWB Director of Operations Tisungane Kapalamula told Times 360 Malawi Facebook page that they expect to rectify the problem within four days.

“For the time being, we will provide water bowsers to help with water distribution as the contractor is working on the pipeline that feeds water from Mulunguzi Dam to our water treatment plant. Residents should report those who vandalise our equipment to police,” Kapalamula emphasises.