DAR ES SALAAM, Feb 12 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa issued directives for multi-sectoral efforts and strategies toward investment in water security, in response to the growing consequences of climate change.
Majaliwa issued the order at the ongoing two-day 6th National Multisectoral Forum on Water Resources Management and Development held at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).
He stated that the Ministry of Water ought to prioritise investing in and building infrastructure for rainwater collection, since a significant amount of rainwater is wasted.
“Even though there are a lot of public buildings and private houses in the country with sturdy roofs that can gather large amounts of water, we are still struggling to discover a decent place to invest in water harvesting,” he said.
In addition, he directed the Ministry to concentrate on constructing dams to store water during the rainy season and to generate eagerness and awareness among Tanzanians so that they are all aware that owning a home with a decent roof is a good way to harvest water and use it during the dry season.
He said the ministry also needs to boost funding for systems that forecast floods and droughts across the nation’s basins.
Moreover, he instructed the country’s district councils to begin locating sites that receive springtime water flow, excavate ponds to catch the water, and use the water during the summer for a variety of purposes like irrigation and cattle watering.
He also ordered the nation’s water board basins to step up their efforts to conserve water resources, impose restrictions on them, and publicise their actions in the government gazette to give them legal protection.
He also asked the boards to implement the order of the Vice-President Dr Philip Mpango, made on Nov 16, 2022 to supervise the countrywide campaign of planting at least two and a half million water friendly trees every year.
“If we implement this, we will be successful,” he stated, adding that “if we consider this in just five years, I believe we will no longer cry about water shortage,” he pointed out.
In line with that, the PM instructed the water authorities to keep a careful eye on, safeguarding, and stop water loss from the water sources that supply in the country.
The PM also demanded that all water-related sectors, including the public and private sectors, make sure that their budgets include fund to support the execution of cooperative strategies for the preservation, development, and management of water resources. The PM has also instructed the Ministry of Minerals to regulate mining operations near water sources.
“Encourage the miners to protect the environment, and by granting them a licence to operate outside of water sources,” he noted.
For the Tanzania Forest Services (TFS), the PM instructed the agency to restrict cutting down the number of commercial trees planted near water sources, adding that random felling would leave the remaining area as a desert.
“This matter ought to be carried out concurrently with the removal of permits for the harvesting of trees near water sources,” he ordered.
Majaliwa also instructed the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries to educate the public, particularly the community of herdsmen, about the most efficient ways to maintain their livestock.
He pointed out that rather than grazing their livestock in multiple locations, which lowers the quality of the livestock products, the animals should be kept in proportion to the land’s capacity.
Furthermore, he gave orders to all ministries and agencies to install a sufficient number of water troughs to keep livestock away from water sources.
The Prime Minister instructed the sectors that possess dams to keep registering them, so that the appropriate authorities are aware of how many dams they have and how to manage them.
They were also instructed to give the best maintenance practices for the dams, so that water resources can be preserved in a sustainable manner. — NNN-DAILYNEWS
