By Noel Chimwala
National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) has called on all individuals, institutions and drilling companies operating without authorization to have their water supply systems licensed by 24th November 2023.
NWRA spokesperson, Masozi Kasambala disclosed this during District Executive Committee meeting which took place in Chikwawa on Tuesday.
“When someone is drilling a borehole without authorization, it means that particular person or institution has breached the law and as an Authority we have to take action for instance shutting down the operation,” he said.
Kasambala said as an Authority they have given the operators a 90 days’ ultimatum to have their water resources licensed as it is within NWRA’s mandate to manage and regulate all water resources in Malawi.
“We decided to engage the council so that it should help the NRWA to achieve smooth implementation of activities being undertaken through detection and reporting of illegal borehole drillers to the Authority so that we take necessary actions.
“We need this message to reach other development structures such as Area Development Committees (ADCs) so that the messages can reach out to communities in various localities,” he said.
Chikwawa District Monitoring and Evaluation officer Luckia Ngomano has since commended NWRA for providing right information saying this can facilitate adherence to regulatory framework of water resources in the district.
“We are committed to support and work as a team so that the district can have quality construction of waters supply systems and also to ensure that there is access to safe and clean water for all communities of Chikwawa,” she said.