MBEYA Urban Water and Sanitation Authority (Mbeya-UWSA) has collected over 300m/- from fines imposed on individuals for infrastructure vandalism and engaging in water theft.

Mbeya-UWSA managing director, Gilbert Kayange, made the statement yesterday during a visit by Mbeya based journalists to various water sources managed by the authority, including the strategic Kiwira River water project.

The visit was part of the World Water Week celebrations, whereby over 100 journalists from various media outlets participated and learned about the authority's operations and services.

Kayange said the arrests followed several operations conducted in different areas, with some culprits caught stealing water meters from residential areas.

“We had initially announced a 'bingo' reward of 1m/- to any citizen who provided information leading to the arrest of individuals vandalising water infrastructure. This strategy worked well because we managed to nab over 100 offenders,” he said.

Kayange also revealed that the authority expects to produce additional 90 million litres of water once the Kiwira River water project is completed and operational.

He explained that currently, the authority is unable to supply enough water for all residents of Mbeya City and   Mbalizi Township due to insufficient supply from existing sources.

“Currently, the water demand in the areas stands at 90 million litres per day but the available production capacity is only 75 million litres,” he said.

Kayange noted that   Kiwira River project will have the capacity to produce 117 million litres of water per day, which will allow the authority to serve 100 percent of the population in Mbeya City and Mbalizi Township.

“If we combine the current production with the output from the Kiwira project, we will have a total production of over 180 million litres, with a surplus of 90 million litres,” he added.

Barnabas Konga, Mbeya-UWSA director of water production and distribution, stated that the authority currently manages 29 water sources, making it the leading authority in Tanzania in terms of the number of water sources.

He said that most of the sources are rivers, springs and deep wells drilled in areas without surface water sources.

“To ensure efficient service delivery, we have established five mini-authorities in Mbalizi, Rujewa, Tukuyu, Kyela, and Chunya which are directly responsible for serving the people in the areas,” he said.