Residents in Malawi capital Lilongwe have been warned that they will be experiencing water rationing due to persistent water shortage in the capital.
For a long time, water had become a scarce commodity in Malawi capital Lilongwe as levels of water remained low across the Lilongwe River, the city’s main supplier of water.
Public Relations Officer for the Malawi capital Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) Bright Sonani has appealed to the residents to remain patient through the dry season as the country awaits much-needed rainfall adding that the country received less rainfall last season that led to lowering of water levels in the Lilongwe River. He advised the residents to sparingly use the available water as they for the problem to be solved.
“We had inadequate rain last season and that led to the lowering of water levels in our water sources and that’s why we have been encouraging our customers to use the available water wisely until the problem is over,” Sonani was quoted as saying.
The development came after President Peter Mutharika declared of a state of emergency in the country in April.
A report by Al Jazeera showed that production of maize in Malawi had dropped by 12%, leaving it short of nearly one million tons of maize needed to feed the population.
“I declare Malawi a state of national disaster following prolonged dry spells during the 2015/16 agriculture season,” Mutharika said.
With the southern African country still recovering from the devastating floods that hit the country last season, which killed at least 106 people and destroyed 64 000 hectares of crop fields, many face the threat of starvation should current climate conditions persist. Water problem in Africa remains a threat to food security and increase inn starvation with several countries recording a drop in annual rainfall.
