Better management of precious water resources urged

Whether or not good rains return this year, the government and developmental agencies say Swaziland's water quality will remain poor, unless long term remedies are found. "Swazis are water-deprived - many of our people share water supplies with cattle. Investment in water infrastructure is overdue," said Ephraim Hlope, principal secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development. Hlope was speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, shortly after accepting a US $51 million grant from the government of Japan to improve the country's water system. "About 47 percent of the Swazi people have access to clean and safe water. The improvements we envision will allow 51 percent of the people to enjoy this vital resource," said Yoshitaka Handa, Charge D'Affairs at the Japanese Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa. King Mswati was being rewarded for visiting Japan with a delegation of African leaders last week. Upon his return on Tuesday, a pleased Mswati noted that the Japanese donation to improve his kingdom's water supply "came with no strings attached". Political observers construed the king's remark as a reference to United States trade initiatives that benefit the kingdom's manufacturing sector and export industries, but are tied to democratic reform. The National Weather Service predicts average rainfall for the hot months ahead, and rains have been normal for October, at the start of the southern hemisphere's summer. "But rains must be extensive, and more than normal, to reverse the current bone-dry conditions," Dumisa Sithole, a meteorologist with the weather service, told IRIN. The new Maguga dam, spanning the Komati river in the mountainous northern Hhohho region, is recording only 11.7 percent of capacity. One year after South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma and King Mswati opened Swaziland's largest public works project, the dam has not met expectations that it would bring irrigation to water-deprived areas. South Africa paid for 60 percent of the project, and is entitled to 60 percent of the catchments area's flow. But, like Mozambique, which also draws upon the Komati as part of a tri-nation accord to harness the river's resources, must make do with a fraction of its allotment. Swaziland's major dam at Majoli, in the northeastern Manzini region, is 20.4 percent full. Much of the Japanese money will be used to bypass surface water resources that are rain-fed, and tap into groundwater supplies. Boreholes will be drilled in parched areas. But environmentalists caution that the depletion of aquifers is certain if borehole regulation is not mandated. "Too many boreholes are stressing the underground lakes. Natural seepage that replenishes the aquifers cannot match the amount of water being pumped out," warned Clearance Dlamini, of the conservation group, Green Cross Swaziland. According to ministry geologist Richard Maphalala, the Ministry of Natural Resources issues licenses to any applicant who desires a borehole and has never turned down a request. Only heavy rains will replenish a network of streams and small rivers that are now completely dry. All the small rivers feeding game reserves in the drought-prone Lubombo Region are little more than sandy paths through the veld. This has had a negative impact on tourism initiatives by communities in the region. "The Shewula community has invested in tourism as a way to raise standards of living. What visitors come to see is disappointing – desiccated flora and a reduction of wildlife," said Amos Shabalala, a tour guide in the rural area near the Mozambique border. The eastern Lubombo region is home to Swaziland's largest game parks, because the usually dry area was bypassed for agricultural and industrial development, leaving ample land available for animals. Small communities with no other sources of income have invested in their own small parks, hoping that cultural tourists would be attracted to their villages to see authentic Swazi life and indigenous flora and fauna. NEGATIVE IMPACT WIDESPREAD "The dry weather is decimating the animal herds. The ostriches have mostly been wiped out. We had to cull the impala, the antelope and some of the buffalo, because their food supplies were gone. Starving animals breed disease, and this had to be prevented," said Shabalala. Health worker Nancy Ntshangase warned that "we need to educate people to keep their cattle from using rivers as urinals". "Water-borne diseases like cholera are associated with townships with high-density populations, but we are having incidents in rural areas [as well]," she added. Animal waste is not solely responsible for poor water quality. The Swaziland Environmental Authority is pursuing two high-profile investigations against an electrical utility and a manufacturer at the central Matsapha Industrial Estate, both are accused of dumping toxins into the Lusushwana River. "This is a water quality problem that directly affects thousands. Swazis downriver from Matsapha draw [water] from the Lusushwana. They have no other water supply," the environmental authority said in a statement. "Water resources are finite. We can improve on what we have, making it cleaner, but there's no ability to produce more. We must seriously recognise that some parts of the country are not suitable for sustained human habitation," said conservationist Dlamini. In urban areas, the Swaziland Water Board has embarked on an infrastructure rehabilitation campaign to staunch leaky pipes, reinforce reservoirs, and replace aging valves and pumps. No figures are available for the amount of water thought to be lost through leakage, as water board officials say they will only be able to know this after scrutinising the entire system. Water wastage, including illegal tapping into pipes by squatters in informal settlements, is considered to be significant. The Central Bank of Swaziland's annual report noted that reduced river capacity cut hydroelectric generation by 33.2 percent last year, with significant impact on the country's electricity supply. At the same time, electricity demand rose 14 percent because agricultural companies in drought-stricken areas required more power to operate irrigation equipment for longer periods. It is not just the lack of rains, but the monarchical government's lack of commitment to democratic reform that is hindering improvements in water and electricity supplies, the Central Bank said. "Prospects for further investment in the sector are seriously hampered by the political uncertainty prevailing in the country," the report noted.