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What government plans to do next financial year to curb water shortages

Dar es Salaam. The government plans to focus on strategic projects to curb water shortages and improve supply in the country.

Requesting Parliament to endorse Sh756.2 billion for his docket for the 2023/23 financial year, Water minister Jumaa Aweso said yesterday the government plans to construct 27 medium-sized dams, rehabilitate others and conduct thorough inspection of existing storage facilities.

“The government also plans to implement a total of 1,546 rural and 244 urban water projects in the 2023/24 financial year,” he said.

Mr Aweso added that the ministry’ would complete the review of the 2002 National Water Policy and commence the formulation of a national water master plan and come up with regulations and various guidelines meant to ensure that water laws are effectively implemented and electronic systems upgraded to increase efficiency in the water sector.

He told Parliament that the average amount of water available per person per year is approximately 2,105 cubic metres for Tanzania mainland’s population of 59.8 million, above the international minimum water requirement of 1,700 cubic metres per person per year.

This, however, is expected to decrease to 883 cubic metres by 2035 due to a growing population,.

“The ministry’s plans for 2023/24 will involve various stakeholders, including members of Parliament and local government authorities, in efforts to identify priority projects,” Mr Aweso said.

According to data provided by the government, water needs in the country for various sectors in 2022 were 62 billion cubic metres and this is expected to increase to 80.2 billion cubic metres by 2035.

The government has also promised that access to safe and secure services of water will be at more than 85 percent by 2025.

The current rate of rural water service coverage has increased from an average of 74.5 percent in December 2021 to an average of 77 percent in December 2022, said Mr Aweso.

“The rate of urban water service coverage has increased from an average of 86.5 percent in December 2021 to an average of 88 percent in December 2022.”

Mr Aweso, however, said the finding financial resources for large-scale water projects was still one of the biggest challenges.

This and the effects of climate change such as prolonged droughts, decreased rainfall, and floods have continued to affect the water sector by creating water scarcity.

Another challenge is increasing water demand and degradation of water resources.

Water resources available in the country annually are at an average of 126 billion cubic metres. This amount includes surface water (105 billion cubic metres) and groundwater (21 billion cubic metres).

The Parliamentary Committee for Water and Environment suggested that while the government uses large amounts of money to invest in water sources and projects it’s time to involve security forces in protection to ensure sustainability and contain the destruction.

The committee chairman, Mr Jackson Kiswaga, said the major challenges in the sector include the shortage of experts in the Water Sector leads to a decrease in the attainment of desired objectives, same as the lack of specific and reliable assurance of water harvesting, and inadequate tax incentives for construction materials and equipment for water infrastructure projects.

“The government must hire more water professionals to address the shortage of 854 in the sector and also haste the formulation of the National Water Master Plan and the National Water Grid to improve supply and accessibility of water in the country,” he said.

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