Malawi government’s inadequate funding to the water sector is leading to more expenses on the treatment of water-borne diseases.
Malawi News has learnt that the recent cholera outbreak in Machinga could have been averted if K21 million was released to repair 61 boreholes in the district.
However, about K100 million was spent in response to the cholera outbreak.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development said Members of Parliament should ensure that there were enough resources allocated to the sector when passing the budget.
However, the MPs argued that it was the Executive arm of government which was not serious when allocating resources to the sector.
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development chief director, Sandram Maweru, on Tuesday said money allocated to the water sector was not enough despite lobbying for more funds.
“We have been lobbying for more resources for a long time. But the outcome has been disappointing. At the moment, an average of K285, 000 is allocated per month in the districts for water-related activities. This shows that districts have very little resources allocated to the water sector. This becomes very difficult for people working in the water sector,” Maweru said.
The issues arose in Lilongwe recently during a lobbying meeting with MPs hosted by Engineers Without Borders in partnership with Water, Environmental and Sanitation Network of Malawi.
According to Maweru, currently, only 0.8 percent of the national budget was allocated to the Water sector and that out of the total budget devolved to Local Authorities for all sectors, only 0.3 percent was allocated to the Water sector.
He said of the total budget for the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, Local Authorities received only 0.16 percent for the water sector.
“This translates to an average monthly ORT [Other Recurrent Transactions] per district for the Water sector of MWK 285,714 to conduct all activities,” Maweru said.
District Water Development Officer for Machinga, Steve Meja, disclosed that in cholera-prone areas of the district, there are 61 boreholes which need to be repaired.
“People in the area around Lake Chilwa are using unsafe water. K21 million is needed for the repair of the boreholes. But during the cholera outbreak that hit the areas recently, about K100 million was spent for response,” Meja said.
Chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee of Parliament chairperson, Rhino Chiphiko, said the problem was with the executive arm of the government.
“All Members of Parliament are interested to have more boreholes, to have gravity-fed schemes for water. But the problem is the Executive. Why it has become a problem is that they have left this whole issue to donors. When they are doing the budget they say ‘don’t worry, donors are taking care of this, just as it is with the health sector,” Chiphiko said.
He added:
“The donors’ contributions have been taken for granted, that it is the donors’ responsibility to fund water projects. Government should make concerted efforts to allocate money for the drilling of boreholes, implementation of irrigation schemes. It is very critical.”
Engineers Without Borders Programmes Director, Sydney Byrns, said more has to be done in the sector.
“One of the biggest problems for the water sector at district level is how much operational funds they get every month to actually get into the monitoring. There is a huge responsibility. At that level there is inadequate financing. There are a number of partners that help but ultimately, if you look at day to day operations, it has to be the government,” Byrns said.
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