People of Kasichi, Katuli and surrounding areas in Senior Chief Mlumbe in Zomba Lisanjala are expected to benefit from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF)-funded water project which is nearing completion.
One of the locals, Christina Tiba of Kasichi Village, said on Friday that they have been drinking water from unprotected sources.
She said this during a budget tracking meeting organised by National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust to appreciate progress of Kasichi Water Project valued at K846 000.
The project involves construction of water intake in Misenjere River in Zomba Mountain, construction of water screening points along the mountain and fixing of water pipes from the mountain to the communities.
“We have been struggling for potable water for a long time. Our villages are on the hilly area which is difficult to be supplied with water from water users associations because of the gradient.
“This exposed us to water-borne infections as we drunk water from contaminated wells,” said Tiba.
During the budget tracking meeting, it was learnt that the project started in October 2017 and was expected to end last December.
However, the communities, in conjunction with the plumber, Samson Kachepa, blamed the delay on the supply of pipes and other materials.
In response, legislator for Zomba Lisanjala Enock Elias Luka agreed with the communities on the reasons behind the delay.
“So far, the pipes for the completion of the project are in and we are just waiting for communities to set dates for installation.
“We will also install chlorine water treating points to enable people treat their water before consumption,” he said. n
