By George Mwita
DAR ES SALAAM, Aug 2 (IPS) – In the nine months since she moved to the Dar es Salaam neighbourhood of Kinondoni, Anna Christopher has only seen water running from her taps once.
Christopher, who works as a public servant, says finding water is a burden in this low-income area of Tanzania’s financial capital.
Like the majority of residents of Dar es Salaam, she has to buy water by the gallon from street vendors every day, paying 250 to 300 Tanzania shillings – equivalent to 18 to 22 U.S. cents – for each 20-litre container. And that’s on the days when water is available in the city at large; when there are shortages – and this happens frequently – prices shoot up to 500 Tshs per gallon.
“This has made it even harder for me, as I have to spend about 4000 Tshs ($3) a week on water only,” Christopher laments. With a gross income equivalent to 115 U.S. dollars a month and a long list of other bills to pay, she finds it a burden. Most Tanzanians must make ends meet on less than a third of here income: the United Nations Development Programme estimates average annual per capita income in the country as a whole is $390.
Unlike in rural areas, where women and girls go long distances to fetch water, here in the city it’s vendors who take it to each doorstep, either by handcarts or tankers. This indirectly provides employment for a fair number of people. Juma Jabu says he can make between 7 and 11 dollars a day selling water, depending on demand.
Upscale areas have problems of their own
In other parts of the city, like the middle-class area of Tabata Kimanga, residents usually get pipe-borne water once a week. This area is located on relatively high ground, which makes it difficult for the aging pumps to supply it with water from the Upper Ruvu treatment plant.
Many in Tabata Kimanga rely on water from shallow wells, mainly dug by independent companies, but this water is salty and unfit for consumption. There is fresh water deep below the ground, but it can only be tapped by heavy duty pumps.
Residents of this area say groundwater resources are not safe, because of the many pit latrines in the area, which may contaminate underground water and cause diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery. The concern with water quality extends to other areas of the city, since buyers don’t know where a street vendor has obtained the water being sold.
Surprisingly, there are places in the same city where water shortage is like new vocabulary in an old dictionary. Areas like Masaki, Sinza, Victoria and Mwenge, have long enjoyed running water all year round. But in recent years, water cutoffs have reached even these affluent neighbourhoods.
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