RUWASA seeks 3tri/- for rural water projects

DODOMA: THE Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) seeks 3tri/- in private investment to close a funding gap threatening water access for 1,575 villages nationwide.

RUWASA requires 5.1tri/- in total to complete ongoing and planned rural water projects, but currently has about 2.06tri/- available, leaving the roughly 3tri/- gap it hopes to close through partnerships with private investors and other stakeholders.

RUWASA Board Chairperson, Engineer Ruth Koya said the agency’s mandate was closely aligned with President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan’s call to ensure Tanzanians no longer have to walk long distances to fetch water.

“Regional and district water managers must translate the agency’s plans into concrete projects and accelerate the expansion of rural water services,” Eng Koya said’ Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water, Ms Rose Ambrose, called on RUWASA to explore alternative financing mechanisms and strengthen collaboration with the private sector to close the funding shortfall.

“RUWASA needs to find alternative ways of raising these funds by working with the private sector,” Ms Ambrose said on Wednesday while opening a three-day working session bringing together RUWASA’s Board of Directors, management, and regional and district water managers.

She said mobilising additional financing was critical to helping the agency push rural water access beyond the 85 per cent level already achieved, while ensuring that the remaining villages are brought into the national water supply network.

“The financing will not only support new projects but also help complete 858 ongoing water infrastructure projects being implemented in different parts of the country,” she said.

RUWASA had initially planned to commence 314 new water projects, but the agency has now been directed to raise the target to 400 projects as part of efforts to accelerate the provision of water to villages that remain unserved.

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Ms Ambrose stressed that regional and district water managers must ensure that rural residents are actually connected to available water infrastructure, rather than focusing solely on construction.

She said expanding access will also help reduce the burden on women and children who often have to travel long distances in search of water, sometimes relying on sources that are unsafe for human consumption.

“The government expects RUWASA and its regional and district managers to implement water programmes with professionalism, integrity and accountability, in line with the country’s broader development vision,” she said.

The push for private-sector participation comes as the government seeks to increase the role of non-state actors in financing development projects.

RUWASA has been encouraged to work towards a model in which 70 per cent of project financing comes from the private sector, according to officials at the meeting.

RUWASA Director General, Engineer Wolta Kirita said the agency, which was established seven years ago, had made significant progress in expanding access to water in rural areas, leaving 1,575 villages still to be reached.

Eng Kirita said the 5.1tri/- requirement represents the financing needed to ensure that all the remaining villages receive water services, while the 2.06tri/- currently available is insufficient to meet that goal.

“We have to mobilise about 3tri/- from development partners and other stakeholders, particularly the private sector, if it is to complete the projects within its plans,” he said.

The three-day meeting is expected to produce concrete resolutions on how RUWASA can accelerate implementation of the projects and develop alternative strategies for mobilising the additional financing.

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