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Tuesday, November 5, 2024

As 3 Towns Water Project Faces Setbackā€¦ Water, Electricity Scarcity Hit Kenema

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Residents of Lumbebu community struggling to getĀ  from the old pipes

BY PAUL LAMIN IN KENEMA

The people of KenemaĀ  and its surroundings, as in many otherĀ  communitiesĀ  across the country, are experiencing acute water and electricity shortage following the launching ofĀ  the Three Towns water project by the then APC government with funds Ā by the African Development Bank (ADB) and the governmentĀ  of Sierra Leone some times last year.

Residents of Kenema and its environs have referred to the projectĀ  Ā as a white elephant project, hurriedly commissioned Ā by the opposition All Peopleā€™s Congress party to score political gains ahead of the just concluded March Ā elections.

A resident of Burma 3 in Kenema City, Moses Bobor Alpha, who spoke through this medium, said since 2014 when Ā underground pipe worksĀ  started most of the Ā old pipes were removed by the Chinese company and, according to them, there has been an acute shortage as water has not passed through the new pipe lines.

Moses Alpha stated that people, especially women and children, wake up early in the morning looking for water sources as most of the water wells haveĀ Ā  dried out.Ā  He said that the Burma community has suffered water shortage for the past months since this year started and the Sierra Leone Water Company SALWACO is not doing anything about the problem andĀ Ā  even the old pipes are burst where water oozes out on major streets in the city.

He called on the new SLPP government under the New Direction on President Bio to speedily intervene and solve the water crisis in the provinces.

It could be noted that few months back doctors at the Pediatric Unit of the Kenema Government Hospital recorded high incidents of diarrhoea and dysentery cases which, according to one Community Health Officer CHO at the hospital, is caused by drinking of contaminated water due to shortage of good drinking water sources.

The Manager of Kamboi Agriculture Radio, FM 92.3, in Kenema, Mohamed Mansaray, said the shortage of water is due to the illegal cutting down of trees and other activitiesĀ  taking place in KamboiĀ  Hills which is theĀ  main sourceĀ  of water where the dams are located.

Mohamed Mansaray said a lot of people are going scot-free whenever they are arrested in the Kambio Hills doing illegal activities in the forest because of their connectivity to traditional rulers or stakeholders.

Many people who spoke to this medium said they are not happy with the management of both SALWACO and EDSA especially the EDSA where the regional engineer/managerĀ  Peter Venda continues to enjoy lightĀ  on regular basis at the disadvantage of the general masses who pay the workers of the Company through their taxes.

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