The National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) has issued a stop order to Mphamvu Water Engineers, a company which is drilling boreholes at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) for operating without a permit.
In August, NWRA announced that it shall close all boreholes and all water surface abstraction that do not have proper authorization from the Authority by 24 November 2023.
The authority’s Public Relations Officer, Masozi Kasambala said they found Mphamvu Water Engineers lacking during one of their inspection exercises.
“They were advised to follow all procedures and apply for a permit,” he said
For the period the institution has been operating illegally, Kasambala said the decision will be made after all assessments are exhausted as their inspectors are still on the ground.
“The assessment that is being undertaken is considering all these aspects. It must be noted that there are other regulators that are handling that. Once all these assessments are exhausted, the way forward shall be communicated,” he said.
He added; “So all those that are involved in drilling and constructing boreholes without the authorization of the authority are indulging themselves in an illegality and the law will surely catch-up with them after the lapse of the 24th November grace period. What they need to do now is to register all their boreholes with the authority for either guidance or regularization”.
Mphamvu Water Engineers managing director Ulanda Duwe said they have had discussions with the authority on the matter.
“There is nothing of that sort, actually I was there today and we had a very cordial discussion,” he said
On Tuesday, Kasambala said the Authority sampled water points across major cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba and Mzuzu, where it was revealed that 75 percent of the boreholes had biologically contaminated water not fit for human consumption
The remarks were made on the sidelines of the District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting when council officials were being sensitized to take an active role in discouraging borehole drilling by drillers that have no authorization from NWRA.
The NWRA is an institution that is mandated by the Water Resources Act (2013) to manage and regulate water resources in Malawi.
Additional Reporting By Lydia Maganga
.
