Water boards ‘sideline’ Mchitanjiru in Lilongwe

Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) has refused to supply potable water to residents of Mchitanjiru which was one of the hot spot areas of cholera during the 2017/2018 rainy season.

LWB assistant public relations officer Vanessa Chidyaonga said this at Mchitanjiru Primary School recently at a meeting with Golombe and Chikwera Bwalo forums initiated by Parent and Child Health Initiative.

“Mchitanjiru and other areas in Lilongwe City surely need clean water, but we are not the rightful body to provide the services. Therefore, we will rope in Central Region Water Board [CRWB] to assist them,” she said.

CRWB spokesperson Zeferino Mitumba said they are mandated to supply water in semi-urban areas but observed that Mchitanjiru is not yet serviced to start receiving potable water.

“We have 22 water supply schemes which include Kasungu Municipality, Santhe Trading Centre, Kochilira-Kamwendo, Mchinji Boma, Mkanda Trading Centre, and Dwangwa Trading Centre. The place you are talking about is not serviced yet,” he said.

Senior group village head (GVH) Mchitanjiru said he was surprised that LWB is sidelining his area when it constructed a tank just close to his village some years back.

“It is sad that LWB is depriving us of such a basic need. It was the use of unsafe water that triggered cholera in my area, and with this development, cholera is likely to hit us again,” he said.

The chief appealed for the construction of a clinic in the area, saying the ones at Nathenje, Kawale and Bwaila are far from his area.