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BWB told to be proactive

Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Allan Chiyembekeza on Saturday advised Blantyre Water Board (BWB) management to be proactive, anticipate problems and develop strategies to prevent them.

The minister said this after meeting BWB board members at BWB head offices in Blantyre where he went to follow up on operations of the board, which was recently hit by water supply crisis.

Water scarcity remains a challenge in the country
Water scarcity remains a challenge in Blantyre

“The two-month water crisis that struck Blantyre residents should come as a lesson to the board and it [BWB] should develop strategies to ensure that such problems are not experienced in the near future.

“Most times, we have waited for a problem to come, which has resulted in pressure; hence, failing to address the problem on time,” he said.

Chiyembekeza, however, commended BWB for tirelessly working to resume pumping water and working on a number of developments to ensure that it provides adequate water supply to Blantyre residents.

“It is pleasing to note that there is so much investment that BWB is undertaking, including the installation of new pipes at Walkers Ferry and construction of reservoirs in Blantyre.

“This is a promising and a commendable development knowing that once this is put in place, Blantyre will have adequate water supply,” he said.

BWB board chairperson James Naphambo said the meeting was relevant and significant, especially coming at a time BWB was recently hit by water crisis and needs guidance.

“This meeting has given us the platform to discuss and share with the minister our challenges, our operations and long-term solutions to some of the problems experienced by the board,” he said.

Commenting on the board’s long-term solutions to water supply, Naphambo said BWB is currently in the process of rehabilitating, constructing, replacing and increasing water production conveyance and reservoirs, which include the construction of reservoirs at Kameza, Chimwankhunda and Chigumula.

He said once the process is complete, BWB will be able to meet the water demand of 115 million litres per day. Currently, the board only produces 78 million litres per day.

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