President Chakwera wants clean water access to all Malawians
President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has today expressed the need for all Malawians to access clean and affordable water.
Chakwera said this in Nkhatabay when he commissioned the Water Supply and Sanitation facility, a project that aims at increasing access to clean water and improved sanitation in Nkhata Bay Town and surrounding areas.
Chakwera said for too long, the people of Nkhata Bay have lamented the lack of quality service when it comes to water and sanitation, and for far too long their cries fell on deaf ears in the corridors of Government.
Chakwera said to make matters worse, the water that the people of Nkhata Bay were being denied is water that is right in front of them.
“I am therefore honoured that the commissioning of this water supply facility today marks a new beginning for the people of Nkhata Bay, who deserve to receive clean water supply services as much as any Malawian. There can be no argument about how closely related water supply services are to improved quality of life,” he said.
He said clean water supply services improve hygiene in the home, improve health services in the hospital, create a conducive learning environment in our schools, impact businesses and manufacturing, and affects farming, just
to name a few.
“And when water supply services are neglected for too long, the results can be dire, and by dire I mean deadly, ” he said.
The project is earmarked to benefit over 105,000 people and its infrastructure is designed to service any sort of demand up to year 2040.
Components of the project include installation of new water transmission and distribution pipelines, storage tanks and installation of over 5000 new water connections including 135 communal water points to extend water supply to low-income areas and households.
The sanitation and hygiene improvement aspect has seen construction of solid waste management facility, upgrading of liquid waste treatment plant and construction of 23 sanitation facilities in public schools and markets.
There has also been provision of skip carriers and bins for solid waste collection and transportation, vacuum truck for liquid waste collection and transportation and sensitization to over 20,000 people on improved sanitation and hygiene.
In addition the project has facilitated the planting of over half a million trees for catchment re-afforestation.
The project – financed by the African Development Bank, OPEC Fund for International Development and Government of Malawi to the tune of US$30.55 million – is considered a key facility not only for Malawi but across the borders because it will expand prospects for further growth of Nkhata Bay Town into a key centre for the Mtwara Development Corridor. The development corridor aims at connecting Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.
Nationally, the project will facilitate the development of new infrastructure across many sectors of the economy thereby complementing the growth of trade and business facilities at Nkhata Bay Town.
This will also facilitate the development of the planned infrastructure and complement to improve trade and business facilitation in the Town, Mzuzu City and surrounding areas.