Motu-Koita 3-month water crisis worsens

National, Normal
Source:

ADRIAN MATHIAS DWU journalism student

THE recent water crisis at Motu-Koitabu villages in the National Capital District has reached a critical point, affecting people and schools in the area.
Tatana village councillor Tom Lancan said Tatana village alone had faced water crisis for almost six solid weeks.
Only last week supply was restored after the Motu-Koitabu Assembly (MKA) meeting last week.
“However, the supply is insufficient, inconsistent and unreliable,” Mr Lancan said.
The water problem has also affected the operation of Tatana Primary School.
The school buildings were built with modern septic toilets but the students could not use them because there was no water supply to the buildings.
“This has also affected learning of students and, often, results achieved have been very low for the school,” the councillor said.
He said education authorities were notified about the plight of the school several times during school’s graduation times but nothing had been done.
There was no notification to the villagers as to when the water valves were closed or opened during rationing.
“Why are they (Eda Ranu authorities) treating us like this?” Mr Lancan asked.
The problem started with Dogura and Pari villages in the east Motu-Koita and later to neighbouring Tatana and Baruni villages in the west-Motu-Koita area.
MKA chairman Miria Ikupu said MKA had spent K80, 485.30 on water carts to supply water to all the villages from Aug 8 last year to Nov 10 this year, and they had run out of money.
Mr Ikupu also refuted Eda Ranu’s claim of supplying free water to the villages.
“We have been buying water for the last 12 years,” he stated.
“We have water meters in some of our villages.
“Because we have been categorised under the non-revenue water zones, Eda Ranu does not want
to attend to our plight as we are economically nonviable,” he said.
The chairman told The National yesterday that MKA had exhausted its budget from its monthly allocation of K300, 000 from NCDC.
Eda Ranu, in a paid advertisement yesterday, said water had been providing to the Motu-Koita villages free of charge for the last 12 years, and this had come at a cost to them.