While some parts of Naisogowaluvu settlement get inundated with floodwaters almost every week, others struggle to survive with the few droplets that fall from their taps almost every day of the week. For 67-year-old Sakeasi Yabia, living with intermittent water supply is a huge issue.
“I am a diabetic and an amputee and I need to have access to water just for bathing and for hygiene,” the retired policeman said.
“Everyone is talking about washing hands for 20 seconds because of COVID-19, that’s almost impossible here because of the issues we have with water.”
Mr Yabia said the water mains leading into Naisogowaluvu and Nawaigasa settlements were installed decades ago and catered for the population at that time. “The water mains they put here were only for 10 families, today we have more than 70 families. “So because a lot of people are without work, when everyone turns their tap on to cook, wash or bath, people like me who live in the elevated areas have problems with water.
“Sometimes we can go without water for hours, I hope that someone in Government can come and assist us by installing bigger water mains.”
Infrastructure Minister Jone Usamate said he would look into the concerns raised by the residents when contacted by this newspaper.
