Dar es Salaam Behind Schedule On Millennium Goals

East African Business Week (Kampala)

 By Kenan Kalagho, 25 December 2012
Dar es Salaam — The deadline for implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's ) as set by the United Nations (UN) is coming to close but Tanzania says it finds it hard to reach the MDG's due to lack of resources and expatriates to undertake these initiatives.
Speaking Exclusively to East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam last week, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water Eng. Christopher Sayi said the implementation of clean water access in both rural and urban areas by 2015 would not be implemented if there is lack of human and financial resources.

(The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water Eng. Christopher Sayi addressing a group of EU ambassadors in Dar es salaam recently, Photo by Kenan Kalagho)
 "We have the best proposals in the world that would make sure that every citizen has an access to clean and reliable water but we are failing to finance these projects implementations," Eng Sayi said.
Recently Dar es Salaam city inaugurated an underground water project that brought much relief to thousands of residents as they now have direct access to clean and safe water with beneficiaries including primary and secondary schools, dispensaries, business centers among others.The Minister for Water Prof Jumanne Maghembe pointed out that there has been a long problem of water in Dar es Salaam and therefore a need to make sure that the country attains the MDG's program by 2014.
He said plans have been completed to expand both Upper and Lower Ruvu pump stations and construct Kidunda dam upstream in Morogoro region.
They will also lay of a 1.8 metre diameter water pipes from Lower Ruvu about 55 kilometers away to Dar es Salaam.
In 2012/13 budget, the government has set aside Tsh117bn to enable the country to have an access to clean and reliable water access by ensuring that the United Nations MDG's on access to water and reduce by half the percentage of the population without access to water supply and sanitation services by 2015 in the country is achieved.
However, Eng. Christopher Siya says only 88% of the urban dwellers were capable of receiving clean and safe water access whereas 65% will be met in rural areas by 2015 due to what he said resulted from long preparations and slow mobilization of resources in implementing rural water projects.