The county government of Busia has allocated Sh124 million to address the acute water shortage problem in the three subcounties of Teso North, Samia, and Butula.
The water projects will see over 100,000 households, including learning institutions, quench their thirst with clean water at their doorsteps.
In Samia Sub-county, the county set aside Sh37 million for the rehabilitation of the Busijo Water project at the shores of Lake Victoria, Bwiri ward, an area that has faced perennial water scarcity despite its close proximity to Lake Victoria, the third largest freshwater lake in the world.
Residents of Samia and Bunyala sub-counties have disclosed that access to clean water for domestic use is still a challenge and that they were forced to use the untreated water they fetch from the lake, which often exposed them to the risk of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, and amoeba.
Following this development, the County Government of Busia, through the Financing Locally Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) programme domiciled in the Department of Water, aims to implement the project to distribute water to a population of over 45,000 residents in the two wards and the neighbouring Bunyala North ward in Bunyala Sub County.
Already, 326 users have benefitted, among them five institutions, namely, Busijoand Bujwang’a Secondary School, Sio Port Sub County Hospital, Samia Girls and Primary Schools, and Sio Port Police Station, and plans were underway to connect Hakati Primary Schools and Hakati Army Barracks.
In Teso North sub-county, where there are two major water project areas, over 180,000 residents will benefit from the 65 million Malakisi-Malaba water project and the recently launched 70 million Changara Kolanya water project funded by the County Government of Busia.
Speaking at Kolanya during the county development tour, Governor Paul Otuoma said that water was an essential asset for use at home for domestic purposes and also for economic sustainability.
The governor assured residents that all water projects will be completed by February 2025 to serve their intended purpose.
Otuoma added that they have put plans in place to utilise solar power in all the water projects to cut down on the huge electric bill, which caused the collapse of many water projects in the county.
“The major challenge we face currently is high running costs accruing from high electricity bills of approximately Sh500,000 every month. However, we have decided to introduce the solar component to make it cost-effective,” said Otuoma.
In Butula Subcounty, the governor commissioned a sh17.8 million water project at Bukhakhala, in Marachi West Ward, which will benefit over 2,000 households (10,000 residents).
Otuoma, while speaking to the press, noted that the County Government of Busia is on course to upgrade the Malaba water treatment plant constructed at Malaba in Teso North Sub-County to serve over 80,000 households, up from 17,000, in Kocholia, Amagoro, and Malaba town.
The upgrade involved the construction of a 6,000-cubic-meter new water system, which will purely rely on gravity to supply water from the River Malakisi to a treatment plant and further to reservoirs for distribution. This will tremendously reduce the monthly power bills of over 200,000 to almost zero.
The additional rehabilitation of the solar power plant, with a capacity of 40 kilowatts, will further boost the efforts to pump water to Mwari Hills tank sites for subsequent water distribution to areas of Angurai and Kolanya.
The County Government of Busia, in conjunction with development partners, has allocated Sh30 million to this project, with more efforts to push for the unlocking of Sh400 million from the National Government to support the connection of water to as many residents as possible within the mentioned areas.
By Absalom Namwalo
