Lunjika residents in Mzimba District are grappling to get safe water said to be accessible to nine in 10 Malawians.

Mahuza Mkandawire villagers in Chief Kampingo Sibande’s rural locality drink water from unprotected wells alongside livestock and wild animals.

In an interview, Group village head Mahuza Mkandawire said the community faces a high burden of waterborne infections. The feared diseases contribute over half of outpatients treated in the country, according to the Ministry of Health.

Women scramble for water in Lunjika

“My people suffer different illness, including diarrhea which are common,” he said, asking the government to urgently end the water woes.

Previously, Malawi Red Cross Society pledged to drill boreholes in the area, but the promise remains unfulfilled.

Lute Mwandira, 26, said she wakes up as early as 2am to fetch water from the soiled wells.

“The water springs slowly from the rock bottom of the well, fuelling conflicts if one wants to fill more than two buckets while many anxiously wait for their turns,” she explained.

Elube Mvura, 32, lamented that some women stuck in the long queue use nearby bushes as toilets. Racing rainwater wash their excreta into the well, worsening the likelihood of cholera as many households do not boil the murky water.

“The government should help us out. We are not safe. Diarrhoeal diseases keep haunting and killing people,” she said.

According to Eliza Mhango, women in the community travel over four kilometres to get to the well and some men beat their wives, accusing them of using the water woes as an excuse to sleep around.

Lunjika has a population of 14 982, according to health surveillance assistant Chikondi Mwandira, but boreholes are few and far apart as most of them no longer produce water.

Mzimba East member of Parliament Wachepa Phiri, elected on the Alliance for Democracy (Aford) ticket in last November’s by-elections, campaigned to end the water woes.

Last October, Phiri and Aford president Enock Chihana told people at Chipumulo primary school and Nthungwa Community Day Secondary School that the party that heralded democracy in the country would not fail to bring water and other amenities to the remote area if it won the parliamentary seat.

But when contacted last week, Phiri said: “You should know that I am just new in the office.

“I am waiting to be oriented by the district commissioner of M’mbelwa District Council, but he was unwell. As such, it took time for me to learn how to go about it. Otherwise, people should hold their patience.”

Maziko Matemba, the executive director at Health and Rights Education Programme, said it is pathetic that the communities share wells with both livestock and wild animals.

He stated: “This needs to be rectified as soon as possible. I’m aware that every district has Local Development Fund allocation and the MPs control Constituency Development Fund which they can use to make a difference. Safe water should be a priority because it is a matter of life and death.

“It is critical to ask communities to include these projects in Village Action Plans for inclusion at council level.”

Precious Kantsitsi, director of planning and development at the council, asked for more time to consult authorities before he could respond, but has not replied despite follow-ups.

However, Mzimba district forestry officer Lifred Banda said wanton cutting down of trees in the district is contributing to water shortage, including the drying of boreholes. 

He said the Department of Forestry is implementing numerous initiatives to raise the water table and conserve both surface and underground water.

These include the rollout of community bylaws that ban and penalise wanton felling of trees and illegal charcoal production. The forestry office also conducts period forest patrols and mass awareness rallies to halt deforestation.

 “We work closely with chiefs to help communities understand the importance of trees and ills of deforestation,” said Banda, asking for more support to boost law enforcement and replenishment of trees.

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