……Mpira Water Trust Cut off Water Supplies to the Board
The water scarcity problem has reached an alarming rate in Balaka District as the water utility company is struggling to persistently supply water to its customers, forcing many to drink water from unprotected water sources.
Our investigation has unearthed that the board is struggling to offset a K94 million to Balaka-based Mpira Water Trust.
According to inside sources, the trust supplies approximately 1 million kiloliters of water to the board every month. The source, who confided with us, says the debt has crippled its water production efforts; as such, the trust has been forced to cut off supplies to the utility company.
The development has left thousands of SRWB customers in Balaka high and dry.
“We have been struggling to get portable water for the past month,” says Esther Banda, a frustrated SRWB customer.
“We have been trying to reason with the authorities to address the problem with all the emergency it deserves, but, all we get are insults. We are now starting to feel like we have been forgotten.
According to our source working for the trust, most employees have not received their 3-months perks because the trust’s coffers are dry.
“As a trust, we don’t get any direct funding for our operations. Therefore, we rely on our sales to pay our staff. Currently, life is unbearable for most of us since we are failing to get our dues.” said one of the frustrated staff.
But the situation is even more dire than it seems. The crisis has come at a time when the district is also grappling with a cholera outbreak which has resurfaced in the district. The crisis is putting the lives of many people at risk of catching water-borne diseases, including cholera.
“We are living in fear,” said Banda.
“Cholera is spreading fast and we don’t have access to clean water to protect our lives,” she added.
The district health office reports that it is already overwhelmed with the cholera cases and medical staff are working tirelessly around the clock to contain the outbreak.
“We have intensified cholera prevention awareness activities. We have also conducted an Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) campaign in several affected areas and we are excited to have reached 116,596 people against a target of 129,922, representing 89.70%,” says Mercy Nyirenda, the district’s health promotion officer.
Nyirenda further urged people to use chlorine to treat water for household consumption.
According to Nyirenda, the district has registered 82 cholera cases since the outbreak resurfaced in November last year.
Meanwhile, our investigations reveal that a group of concerned people have written to the district council, requesting it to intervene in the matter.
Our efforts to speak to SRWB spokesperson Ritta Makwangwala proved futile as she was not available for comment by press time.
Though the board is facing significant challenges to persistently supply water to its customers, SRWB Chief Executive Officer, engineer Duncan Chambamba, recently announced that the board has made significant progress in the last four years, recording a 100/% increase in revenue—from K8.3 billion in December 2020 to K17.1 billion by December 2024.
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