Manafwa residents demonstrate over lack of clean water

Manafwa, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Residents of Sisuni sub county in Manafwa district have held a peaceful demonstration protesting lack of access to clean water. Drawn from twenty villages in the sub-county, the protesters matched with placards to Sisuni sub county headquarters demanding that the leaders repair broken boreholes in their areas.

Some of the affected villages are Bumaena lower, Bukasama upper, Butema, Bukasawa and Buwopuwa. Anent Kangala, one of the affected residents said that all the seven boreholes they had in the parish are dysfunctional.

She said that their pleas to the sub-county leadership to allocate some funds for repairing the boreholes have fallen on deaf ears.

Patrick Muse, the LC I chairperson of Bumaina lower village says that residents trek over seven kilometers to the neighbouring Namisindwa district to access clean water.

He says that the water crisis has led to domestic violence in homes, adding that he registers at least ten cases of men fighting their wives because of returning home late when they go out to fetch water.

Doreen Matembo, the  Sisuni sub county LCV councillor has called for calm among residents, saying that they have brought the matter to the attention of the council. She however says that the sub-county has no money because of poor local revenue collection. She urged the locals to mobilise funds to fix the boreholes as they wait for the sub-county.

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