Large parts of Kombos have been experiencing very severe water shortage recently. The residents of Kombo are not strangers to unreliable water supply from National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC). But the situation has gone from bad to worse in recent days.
Households have been accustomed to receiving only intermittent supply of water. Most of the time, the water would only come very late at night. Or the water would come one day and not come the following day.
However, the problem has significantly worsened these past couple of days. For residents of parts of Wullinkama, the water through NAWEC has completely stopped. The only source of water is through neighbours that have privately-dug boreholes in their compounds.
For Haja Ndure of Wullinkama, the situation has become almost unbearable.
“There is not a single drop of water through my tap for days now.” She lamented. “Previously, I used to get water only at night. My son Omar would normally get up late at night and fill up our containers. That was difficult enough. But now, the water does not come even at night. We have to get it from a neighbor with a borehole. If the water from our neighbor is not available, I don’t know what we will do”.
Haja’s husband, Momodou, remarked how the water problem has been steadily getting worse in his neighbourhood.
“We used to have regular supply of water when we came here a few years back. But now, the situation is unbelievable.” He continued, “I would dig a well in my compound today if I could afford it”.
The problem is not restricted to just residents of Wullinkama. Similar experiences are being faced by residents in locations such as Brusubi, Sukuta, Manjai and Nemasu. The residents of these areas have also reported worsening water supplies recently.
All those complaining have water connections in their compounds and yet they are not able to receive any water. So far, none of these people have received any communication from NAWEC. And many are at a loss as to where to go to lodge complaints. In the meantime, they are resigned to their fate, reduced to praying for some relief from their water hardship.
When contact by this paper, NAWEC Public Relations Officer Pierre Sylva said the severe water shortage in large parts of Kombos was a news to him, but assured to contact the water department of the company today Monday.