Stella Turyasingura
A persistent water shortage in Rukungiri district is forcing residents to walk more than five kilometers to fetch water for domestic use.
Mr. Jorum Baryamanya the chairperson of Rwakabengo A Rwakabengo ward, in the southern division Rukungiri District, told our reporter that he pays 6000 shillings daily in search of clean water
Mr. Baryamanya says they used to collect water from the streams near their home during the rainy season, but these have since dried up.
We have been suffering in this village for a long time without access to clean water. Cases of waterborne diseases are common in their village because they have been drinking dirty water from the valleys, which they sometimes share with animals.
Mr. Baryamanya says there is a lot of congestion at the few remaining water points; noting that their water point is a borehole that serves a population of more than 600 people from five villages in the division.
It takes a person more than two hours to fetch water at the borehole
Deus Twekwase the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) senior engineer in Rukungiri district says NWSC is facing mechanical breakdowns of machines and unreliable electricity power to run the heavy pumps to distribute water to cover areas mapped by NWSC for water supply.
Twekwase says they need to diversify water sources when the Kahengye project gets on board and keep their infrastructure up to date with the latest technology to make it more resilient,
He asked residents to be patient as they are normalizing the situation.
