COMOROS: water shortages intensify in Moroni to the great dismay of households

06 11 2023 | 19:45Inès Magoum / AFRIK21

For several months, the drinking water supply has been disrupted in Moroni, the capital of the Comoros. Two main reasons are given, the obsolescence of the distribution network of the National Water Exploitation and Distribution Company (Sonede) of the Comoros, and the careerism of street water sellers.

On October 24, 2023, Badjanani Square, near the mosque in Moroni, the capital of the Comoros, was transformed into a gathering place for a few hours. Empty bottles in hand, the Moronais stood up as one to denounce the stressful situation in which they have found themselves for several months due to the instability of the drinking water distribution network.

The most impacted, women, took the floor to talk about the impact of these water shortages on their daily activities, between cooking, laundry, dishes, etc. The slowdown in economic activities is also part of the consequences of these water shortages. The Moronais, who were more than a hundred on Badjanani Square today, intended to march through the streets of the capital, but their project was stopped by a large police force, our colleagues from Journal de Mayotte explained . on October 31, 2023.

One of the reasons given by the National Water Exploitation and Distribution Company (Sonede) to justify this water crisis is the obsolescence of the water distribution network, put into service in 1970. “In the Comoros  , There is no problem of water sources, but of distribution . There are not a thousand solutions, we must increase storage capacities and build reservoirs above homes to be able to cover unserved areas. A project to build a large 2,500 m3 reservoir is underway in the north center of Moroni. Once completed, all problems will be resolved,” Sonede said.

Moroni however has three pumping stations of 9,000 m 3 per day, 3,000 m 3 per day, and the “ONU 4” site with a capacity of 2,000 m 3 per day. In addition to these installations, there are two storage tanks with a combined capacity of 2,500 m 3 . The second reason given is the careerism of street water sellers. According to the Moronais, they storm the pumping sites every day, blocking the only pipeline that carries water to Moroni and its surroundings.

These are therefore two projects to be carried out simultaneously by the government of the Comoros to increase the rate of access to drinking water in the country to 67% by 2027, compared to 19% currently. The capital Moroni is far from being the only city in the Comoros experiencing a water crisis.​​​​​​

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