Nyanza is among the remote district of Rwanda where residents hustled access clean water.
Left with no option residents depended on water from Kibirizi stream which supplied the entire district of Nyanza.
As you approach this swampy area, a strong stench arising from Kibirizi stream ‘welcomes you’ which is a clear indication of the ordeal locals went through to access clean water.
“There was no option. We got used. And that was our water,” narrates Moses Mushime a resident.
Nyanza District is 70 kilometres from Kigali City, south of Rwanda.
However, the residents of Nyanza would later be saved by the East African Community (EAC) after it designed concepts to transform lives of its citizens.
Under one of the institutions; Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) the secretariat embarked on improving water supply by funding projects across the region.
Many partner states face a huge challenge of accessing cleaner and safer water.
Nyanza District in Rwanda being one of them became a beneficiary of this scheme.
During the Secretary General tour on this project site in Kibirizi village, it was discovered that after completion 480000 residents in Nyanza are able to access cleaner water.
Accordingly the project cost 7 million US dollars to treat water from Kibirizi stream.
The project was handled by Rwanda water and Sanitation Corporation (WASC).
Boosted supply from 1500m litres a day to 50000 million.
According to the deputy CEO WASC Gisele Umuhumuza, the residents access this clean at the cost of 20rwf and a family can able to spend $1 monthly which is relatively cheaper compared to the previous days before the plant was designed.
In his remarks, EAC secretary general Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko expressed gratitude to WASC for “putting money to use.” “The project was cost effective. I have no complaint over accountability issues,” said Mfumukeko.
