Thirst spreads as shortage of water persists




Samples of contaminated water presented to Water Minister Charity Ngilu when she visited Mandera. The area experiences a perennial water shortage. Picture: Boniface Ongeri

Published on June 6, 2008, 12:00 am

By Adow Jubat and Boniface Ongeri

The adage, "the early bird catches the worm" may be true for residents of Mandera West Constituency.

Each morning, they wake to lick dew from plants to quench their thirst.
To them, the perennial water scarcity has turned into a nightmare.

"It doesn’t really quench our thirst, but keeps us going during the day’s intense temperatures," Mr Alnur Osman, 84, says as he moves his tongue from one leaf of a neem tree to another.

Dogged by a perennial water crisis, the residents of this remote constituency want a lasting solution.

"The dew only helps to minimise thirst but as you can see, we are dirty for not washing. We need water," Alnur says.

While the rest of the country is exploring prospects for oil and improved agricultural turnover, the constituency is yet to have a reliable water supply.
Several excavations have been done, but none has been successful.
Children have not been spared by this crisis.

Many have dropped out of school to join their parents in search of the precious commodity.

In the dry dusty roads, they flag down motorists, begging for water. A resident, Mr Ibrahim Adan Mohammed, says women do not attend to their chores fully because they spend most of their time looking for water.

Like schools, health centres have been worst affected, with most hospital facilities turning into health hazards instead.

Pans and dams that harvest the commodity during the rare rains are all dry as short rains last year and this year’s long rains failed.

A spot check on several dams and pans in Mandera reveal that most have dried up while others are a murky puddle.

At least eight locations are experiencing scarcity and require water tinkering, according to the DC John Kinja.

Several villages have been deserted as the occupants set out to look for water and pasture for their livestock and families.

Takaba, the constituency-cum-district headquarters, is not spared either. During the recent homecoming ceremony for area MP Mohammed Maalim Mahamud, visitors including Water minister Charity Ngilu and six Members of Parliament were shown samples of water full of algae that residents drink.

Concocted faces from the visitors said it all.

"I am ashamed to be the Water minister if this is the kind of water people drink here," Mrs Ngilu said.

A glimpse of the locals’ predicament greeted the entourage as they landed in a dusty airstrip.

"Welcome Minister Ngilu, but 45 years since independence, we have no water," the residents said, with some displaying banners to drive home the point.

Mandera badly needs water since it is predominantly a Muslim community in which everything depends on water.

Human-wildlife conflict

It is widely used to wash corpses before burial and for ablution in preparation for prayers.

Ngilu ordered an emergency delivery of water to the residents.
But even so, the residents are bracing for another bout of confrontation with wildlife, particularly baboons, over the scarce water sources.

"We often treat patients injured by baboons every year," Mr Ismail Tulo, a clinical officer at the local health centre, said.

Security personnel have also been caught in the fray. In Kiliweri, Elgofa, Banissa, Dandu and Darwet locations, security officers are now armed with firearms on one hand and jerricans on the other as they join the residents in search of water over long distances.

"Our major job here is to look for water besides ensuring security," an officer in Takaba said.

The Regional Manager for Water Resource Management Authority Ali Yarrow, says that since 1934, 18 trials to drill boreholes have been unsuccessful.

"The sites include Takaba, Kiliweri, Elgoffa, Wangai, Banisa, Guba, Darwet and Dandu," Yarrow said.

Between 2001 and 2006, some 12 sites were investigated, but only one at Khokai Hamansa was recommended for drilling to the depth of 350 metres. It was dry.
However, a site at Ereb Kuki along the Wargadud-Shimbir Fatuma road junction recommended in 1985 by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation geologists has not been drilled to date.

The military tried to drill two boreholes in Darwet, but they were also unsuccessful.
Local MP Mahamud said he would engage professionals to conduct a study on how the entire Mandera district’s needs can be addressed, including intensive hydro geological survey to identify fractured sites.

In the meantime, the residents will be waking up everyday before the sun strikes to lick dewdrops.

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