Mozambique: More than 50,000 in Mabalane and Chibuto still consuming unsafe water

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Mozambique: More than 50,000 in Mabalane and Chibuto still consuming unsafe water

1:04 CAT | 29 Aug 2025

Photo: O País

More than 50,000 people in the Mabalane and Chibuto districts of Gaza province still rely on artisanal wells and brackish water for domestic use. The governments of the two districts require 280 million meticais to build or improve 20 additional water supply systems.

Water supply in Mabalane, Gaza province, is proving to be a major headache. According to the district government, at least 40 communities continue to consume brackish water.

Hundreds of women, like Nórdia Baloi and Angélica, residents of Combomune station, have to trek more than three hours daily to cope with a harsh reality, worsened by the drought that plagues the northernmost districts of the province.

“We are crowded together and return home without water. It’s far from home. We draw water from ponds, which then remain standing for later use,” said Nórdia Baloi.

Rafael Dava, Director of District Infrastructure Services in Mabalane, stated that the solution involves the construction of 15 dams to retain water, an intervention that requires a significant investment.

“There are over 40 communities that have water problems, but it’s brackish water. We want to capitalize on dams. This means we’ll need at least 10 to 15 dams, amounting to around 140 to 180 million [meticais],” Dava revealed, adding that the projects include, among other things, drilling boreholes 300 metres deep.

“Eighty percent of our water is brackish. To have good water in our district, we need to drill a borehole over 300 metres deep, especially in the upper part of the district, like the town of Nyatimamba and Combomune Estação, where the river doesn’t flow,” Dava explained.

Nor are the animals spared. It’s the second-largest district in the province with the largest cattle population, with over 70,000 head of cattle.

“There are farmers who have over 200, 300 head of cattle. It’s a bank they have, so they can dig their own wells to water their cattle while the government prepares,” Dava concluded.

More than three communities in the district of Chibuto, also in Gaza province, use a well in the lowlands as an alternative for washing clothes, among other domestic needs.

“That water is dirty and coloured, but without it we can’t cook, wash or drink. We’ve been doing this for a long time,” one resident complained.

Like many, Jessica Joel, 25, faces the dilemma of waking up very early to fetch the precious liquid and says: “The government must urgently work to provide us with water.”

Asked about this during the launch ceremony of the third edition of the Bambeni festival, Chibuto administrator Cacilda Banze acknowledged the problem and said that approximately 100 million meticais was needed to reverse the current situation.

“But only 39% don’t have water, and three locations have even more problems. (…) We’re having trouble setting up the systems; each system costs over 10 million,” the Chibuto administrator stated.

In Chibuto district alone, more than 34,000 people continue to consume unsuitable water.

Source: O País