Fuel Crisis Hits Home: Burundi Eco- Households on Brink of Energy Emergency
Benjamin Kuriyo, Publishing Director
The shortage of drinking water begins a new phase with the analysis being reported on the main pipe to the Ntahangwa. The entire northern part, except for areas served by underground or gravity water sources, has been deprived of drinking water for a week. RGIDESO technicians tried to restore the water supply, but in vain. This reported failure of the large caliber pipe complicates the task for the technicians who have mobilized their arsenal. Despite promises from the Minister of Energy to normalize the situation, thousands of residents do not have access to drinking water. The specter of the spread of diseases linked to a lack of hygiene is looming. Managers of public places such as restaurants, bars and hotels, schools and churches must remain vigilant.
Drinking water shortages have serious consequences. Residents roam the neighborhoods looking for a water point. Images of women and children collecting surface water flowing through the walls of the gutters have done the rounds on social networks. Public opinion has been shocked by this widespread shortage of this vital resource for life. Those who have means travel with cans or plastic bins to bring water to their cars. Others queue for days in front of public taps attached to groundwater pumps recently installed by humanitarian NGOs. At the same time, about ten police tankers were sent to the affected area to mitigate the effects.
One person’s misfortune makes happiness for others. The large deficit in drinking water is partly beneficial to mineral water producers who sell their stocks easily. Bike taxis converted into water carriers sell this rare commodity however they see fit. The exorbitant prices push part of the population to resort to the waterways and rivers that cross the city of Bujumbura at the risk of their lives. As preventive measures, one of the university institutions has temporarily suspended its academic activities while the situation improves. Comedians make fun of the situation by bringing up memories of the old days when children got wet in the rain. Therefore, residents of neighborhoods without water collect rainwater which they put to good use during this rainy period. Unfortunately, the unpredictability of rainfall does not allow us to rely on this source. Homes equipped with devices for capturing water from the ground water allow residents to survive for a few days.
Life is water. The population will still need access to this scarce resource in a country with a very dense hydrographic network. This shortage shows the urgency to rehabilitate the network and diversify drinking water sources. Liberalization of the sector should be encouraged to attract investors to WASH programs in the context of limited public investments.