In Ntahangwa commune and more specifically in Ngagara, some sewers are seeping, liquid waste is flowing into the gutters and threatening the surrounding population and Lake Tanganyika. OBUHA said the local administration did not report it in time. Now he promises to fix them as soon as possible
In front of the Van Norman Clinic of the Espoir d’Afrique University, liquid waste from a broken sewer is pouring into the gutter.
Protecting the environment is everyone’s business. This concerns the government in particular and the population in general. In the Ngagara area in Ntahangwa commune (Bujumbura town hall), some sewers pose a threat to the environment and the surrounding population. A team from Burundi Eco noted this on Monday January 23, 2023. The concrete example happens to be the Mgr Buconyori roadway, precisely in front of the Van Norman clinic of the Espoir d’Afrique University where a manhole of a sewer is experiencing a leak. Water mixed with excreta still pours into the gutter and flows towards Lake Tanganyika. A person met in a carpentry workshop located right next to the manhole in question underlines that he does not remember when it all started. But after all, sewer-carried excreta have been pouring into the gutter for a long time.
Apparently, all the people who practice their trades along the gutter in question seem to get used to the inconvenience caused by the foul odors from this flow. “I’m tired of seeing that nothing is being done to repair this sewer that is hostile to the environment and the well-being of the population. I am optimistic that the authorities are aware of this problem but, unfortunately, they are in no hurry to put things in order in order to protect the population”, laments the named Jean d’Arc, student at the Espoir University from Africa. Another student from this same university who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity does not go there by four paths. For him it is unacceptable to see excreta flow day and night in the gutters towards Lake Tanganyika because of a damaged sewer which is not repaired as soon as possible. He wonders what the services responsible for closely monitoring the state of the sewers are doing. After all, it is Lake Tanganyika that is polluted despite being a source of drinking water for the majority of the inhabitants of the economic capital Bujumbura.
That’s not all…
Another controversial sewer is the one causing damage in front of the Ngagara I market, on the northern side. The sewer in question is larger, because it pours into the gutters a lot of liquid mixed with excreta more than the one mentioned above. The traders who spoke on the microphone of Burundi Eco are unanimous and aware that this can have consequences for their health and the environment. Unfortunately, as ordinary citizens, there is nothing they can do to change the situation. The ball is in the government’s court.
The Burundian Office of Urban Planning, Housing and Construction (OBUHA) plans to react as quickly as possible. “The local administrators have not yet informed us that the sewers are causing inconvenience in their areas, otherwise the OBUHA would intervene as soon as possible, because we have the equipment to accomplish this task”, indicates Jean Pierre Gatore, Commissioner General of the OBUHA. Now, Mr. Gatore promises to send a team to repair the broken sewers.
