Mchinji residents disatisfied with intermittent water supply

Mchinji District residents have expressed dissatisfaction over intermittent water supply and inefficient customer care by the Central Region Water Board (CRWB), a piped water assessment by Kalondolondo has revealed.

The assessment targeted water quality, water pricing of the CRWB and the rural water scheme for rural communities.

Presenting the findings of the assessment on Wednesday, Women’s Hope for Change (WHFC) executive director Hellen Makukula said Mchinji residents also complained about exorbitant bills in institutions such as the district hospital and secondary schools despite dry taps.

She said the residents also decried poor quality of water, citing the presence of strong chlorine odours and debris.

Said Makukula: “Residents of Mayadi, staff houses, Maula and owners of lodges have all complained of exorbitant bills, with Mchinji District Hospital claiming to sometimes receive K2 million bills in a month.”

She said, as a result of this, some people do not use tap water but use boreholes instead because they cannot afford to pay water bills.

The assessment also revealed that some communities who use the rural water scheme have had no water since 2008. Chimuti, Zulu, Mtanga and Virimba are some of the communities said to have had no water.

Kalondolondo Project programme manager Jephther Mwanza said the assessment was one way of ensuring that people have access to good water in the district.

He said: “The assessment shows that Mchinji residents have genuine concerns which should be addressed to ensure that that there is availability of water, since water is life.”

Kalondolondo is a consortium of Plan Malawi, Council for Non-governmental Organisations in Malawi(Congoma) and Action Aid Malawi.