DAR ES SALAAM, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities said on Monday financial constraints were likely to derail the second phase implementation of the Water Sector Development Program (WSDP).
Makame Mbarawa, the Minister for Water and Irrigation, said out of the planned 3.3 billion U.S. dollars, the government has so far mobilized an estimated amount of 1.9 billion U.S. dollars only.
"The government is still soliciting other sources of financing so as to achieve our ambitious program," he told the 12th Joint Water Sector Review meeting in the capital Dodoma.
He added: "If the resources gap is not addressed, it will hinder the performance of the second phase of the program."
He told the participants that there was an urgent need to seriously think and come up with the solutions to the problem in their discussions.
However, Mbarawa said in spite of the financial resource constraints, there was a notable achievement across all the components of WSDP II such as improved provision of water supply and sanitation to communities.
He said in rural areas a total of 344 water supply and sanitation projects were completed while 500 projects are at different stages of implementation.
According to the minister, a total of 25,359,290 people equivalent to 64.8 percent of the rural population are served from 86,780 functional water points out of 131,370 water points.
In urban areas, he said projects implemented by urban water utilities benefit a total of 11,563,595 people, translating to water coverage of 85 percent.
In efforts to serve water resources, he said a total of 298 water sources have been identified for protection, 103 water sources are at various stages of demarcation and 18 water sources are gazetted.
