By Mathew Kanu in Makeni
A Le 65 million project seems to be lying in ruins. Residents of Kamakwie in the northern Bombali district have described as “a white elephant” the gravity water project constructed in April last year by a Korean group. The project is a World Bank supported initiative to enhance better water supply at rural level.
A resident trader of Kamakwie, Aminata Koroma said the taps were “not working at all” adding, “they are mere furniture”. She said the majority of the people still had to go to the river to fetch water to drink and that the French NGO Interade had constructed few water wells which could not serve the entire people.
She asked how such a project could have been brought into the town and built in the dry season.
A student of Kamakwie Secondary School, Andrew Sesay said they were not benefitting from the taps in the rains or in the dry season, adding that the problem had persisted for over one year. “We want government to come back and fix these pumps because if there is no good pipe-borne water our health will be at risk” he pleaded.
A teacher of the Roman Catholic Primary School, Mariatu Conteh attributed the high number of children dying every year to the lack of good drinking water and urged government to find a solution to the problem.
“Government has spent money which we cannot benefit from” she lamented. She said that since the last installation the contractors locked everything inside their stores and continued working on similar projects in Gbendembu Town.
Chairman of the Bombali District Council, John Shangai Koroma told a council meeting in the town that the gravity water project was a priority for his administration even though they inherited it from the previous council. He said council would do the rehabilitation but urged residents to be ready to pay water rates for the upkeep of the facility.
(C) Politico 13/08/13
