KAYANZA August 3rd (ABP) – The inhabitants of Gatara commune in Kayanza province (northern Burundi) are currently facing an apparent lack of drinking water. The channel that supplied that commune with drinking water from the Kibira natural forest no longer works and has been so for more than a year, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
The communal administration and the officer in charge of the communal water supply authority in Gatara say they are aware of the situation; the check by ABP got informed from the inhabitants of the headquarters of that commune.
Some residents of the headquarters of Gatara commune who were contacted say they had water in the taps during the last rainy season, but this glimmer of hope did not last long. They indicate that since then, the water has completely dried up in the taps. The same residents contacted let it be known that it is difficult for them today to find water for cooking or hygiene because they have to travel long distances to reach a source of water. They are calling for rapid intervention to remedy that problem.
According to the officer in charge of the communal water supply authority in Gatara, Mr. Stany Niyongabo, the problem dates back to 2020 when pouring rain destroyed the pipes that supplied water to the said commune from the Kibira. He goes on to say that the crux of the problem is the obsolescence of the galvanized pipes forming the hydraulic network that supplies the Gatara commune. He is therefore asking the government to take the issue in hand because, he adds, efforts to repair that channel have been unsuccessful. According to him, a rehabilitation of the whole channel is necessary, which the communal water supply authority is not able to do.
Contacted in that connection, the adviser to the communal administrator of Gatara in charge of political, social, administrative and legal affairs, Mr. Donatien Ndikubwimana, said that the problem was a concern of the administration. He calls for the intervention of hierarchical superiors and other partners for a lasting resolution of the problem.