By: Binta Jaiteh
The acute water shortage that the residents of Bundung Six Junction have been enduring for almost a decade now has galvanized the women of the area into a protest.
Dozens of Bundung-Ka Kunda women descended down the street over the weekend to bring the attention of relevant stakeholders to their plight as well as vent their dismay in Nawec.
The general area of Bundung has been experiencing excruciating water problems for the seven years of the Barrow administration and three years under Jammeh.
On Saturday, various women’s groups congregated at the compound of the area’s NAM Sulayman Jammeh to demand answers to the perennial water stress in the area.
Bundung Bantaba/Borehole Ward resident Fatou Badjie said the people of Bundung have been seriously challenged in accessing water from the national water company.
“We continue to face hardships and it is our fundamental human right to get water because we are paying tax and also our bills,” she explained.
According to her, NAM Sulayman Jammeh has been at the forefront of Bundung’s clamor for access to potable water since he assumed office, recalling the time when he threatened to resign if a grave was not dug for Bundung’s acute water shortages.
Madam Badjie emphasized that residents had to wake at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. daily to scavenge for water at the area’s main street tap. She lamented that despite the struggle, water was always hard to come by.
Protester Amie Jatta applauded the women for their determination to fight for water justice and equality, adding that access to potable water had remained a concern for the people of Bundung for a long time.
She stressed that it was high time Nawec prioritized water supply as, according to her, people cannot subsist without water.
Protest leader Binta Camara contended that Nawec should stop serving them bills if the company cannot supply water.
“Let them also stop bringing bills to our compounds else we are going to take the law into our own hands,” she stated.
She thanked legislator Jammeh for “standing with them during this difficult moment and representing them well at the Parliament”.
NAM for Bundung-Ka Kunda, Sulayman Jammeh, described Bundung’s water situation as disheartening. He then commended the women for the peaceful protest and for conducting themselves with respect throughout the protest.
He recalled that his first contribution to a parliamentary debate was around the water challenges that the residents of Bundunghave been encountering.
NAM Jammeh promised to follow up with NAWEC and see how best to mitigate the challenges as he highlighted the water advocacy that he has long embarked upon and the various fruitless meetings he held with the water minister.
He described as lamentable and serious the inability and suffering of children to access water for use in toilets but vowed to raise Bundung’s water issue in the next session of the House, beginning today.