By Aliko Munde & Andrew Gondwe

Chitipa, August 15, Mana: Chitipa District Council has asked the National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) to reduce application fees and charges for water abstraction points for rural communities which is pegged at K80,000.

Director of Health and Social Services for Chitipa District Council, Dr Mwatikonda Mbendera made the sentiments Monday when NWRA briefed District Executive Committee (DEC) on the authority’s mandate and functions.

The NWRA has set November 24, 2023 as the deadline for individuals and institutions who own water abstraction points such as boreholes, to declare them to the authority or risk being punished by a fine which range from K4 million to K10 million.

Mbendera said the application fees and charges are highly exorbitant for communities who mostly use water for domestic use.

"It is unfair to charge fees for communal abstraction water points the same as institutions. This is overcharging rural people. You have to go back and ammend the application fees and charges,” Mbendera appealed.

Director of Administration for the council, Clement Gonthi said the authority should categorise the fees based on the use and purpose of the water abstraction points.

“For instance, water that is used for domestic purposes should have lower fees compared to the water that is used for commercial purposes.

“This would help rural masses to access good and quality water through legal boreholes,” said Gonthi.

Spokesperson for NWRA, Masozi Kasambara said the authority will present the concerns to its board.

He advised the council to take up the responsibility to civic educate people of Chitipa on the mandate of the authority and duty of people in the district.

“Let them declare their water abstraction points and have legal licenses by paying the fee when they want to construct the water sources such as boreholes, wells and dams.

"All people and institutions who have water abstraction points such as boreholes, irrigation schemes, fish ponds and dams that were constructed without the certification from NWRA must declare them to the NWRA by November 24, 2023,” he said.

Kasambara said the data will assist the authority to make a thorough assessment and decision on whether the points should be legalized or closed down.

Recently, NWRA conducted the borehole spot check inspection and test in four major cities of Mzuzu, Blantyre, Zomba and Lilongwe.

The assessment found out that 75 percent of the 44 boreholes contain water which is biologically contaminated and unfit for human consumption.