Macaravani West residents outrage at unhealthy water

Elezo Libanda

KATIMA MULILO, MARCH 28 – Residents of the Macaravani West compound in Katima Mulilo are fetching water from an open pit opposite the UNAM campus, as they have no other water sources. People constantly help themselves from what has become their primary water source, and as one of the residents, David Chioma said, most of the residents at the compound were using the dirty water from the open rig.

“It’s not our wish that we are using this dirty water but it’s because we don’t have other means. The water points here are few and most of the time they are not properly maintained, while the river is also very far.”

He added that the water was at times plagued with items that made it undesirable, yet there was no other option.

“I always come here for water despite knowing that it’s not fit for human consumption. Sometimes I find dirty things in the rig such as diapers and used condoms and I have to remove them before fetching water. Most of the mud houses you see across this road; the water they used is from here. We sometimes boil the water and if we don’t have firewood we just use it like that. We have accepted the situation we find ourselves in,” he said.

Contacted for comment, the chairperson of the management committee of Katima Mulilo town council and Councillor responsible for Macavarani west, Honourable Lister Shamalaza, said he was aware of the situation at Macaravani, but quickly added that there was nothing the council could do as people just grabbed land that wasn’t serviced. He however said that the council would soon find an amicable solution to address the situation of not only Macaravani West but other compounds that are in the same situation