Water thefts: DAWASA fingers brick makers.

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INNOCENT-THE BLOGGER-BOY

The Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (DAWASA)

The Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (DAWASA) has declared that among the most notorious companies associated with illegal water connection are owners of the brick factories operating in the country.

 

Romanus Mwangingo, technical director for Dawasa, said this at a stakeholders’ meeting held in Dar es Salaam concerning the new water prices in the city.

 

He referred to increases in water loss as reaching 57 percent, citing findings that much of it is “stolen by the brick factory owners.”

 

“We have succeeded to arrest one bricks factory operator in an operation dubbed ‘war against water thieves,’ where we found they had connect water illegally,” he said.

 

Dawasa was seeking more money so as to make adjustments on infrastructure as well as reducing water leaks and thus reduce water loss levels, he explained.

 

 Due to the shortage of water and water supply system not reaching many places in Dar es Salaam, Dawasa decided to institute a sharing process where many people get water from 8 to 10 hours a day, others more briefly and at times go without water for the whole day.

 

In an interview with a brick factory worker at Ubungo Maji, the interviewee rejected the Dawasa accusations.

 

He said they use plenty of water to irrigate the bricks, and it is not so easy for them to rely on water from DAWASCO.

 

Brick factory operators use water from wells which their owners dig for the purpose of watering the bricks and for other small activities around the place, he elaborated.

 

Last week, consumer bodies and other stakeholders rejected new water prices proposed by the Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage system (DAWASA) and the Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Corporation (DAWASCO) from current Sh1,098 per 1000 litres to Sh2,631 which is a rise of 139.6 percent, for supply of clean water.