ARUSHA: Tanzania’s government has stepped up investment in water infrastructure in the drought-prone Longido district near the Kenyan border, as authorities seek to improve social services and protect pastoral livelihoods vulnerable to climate variability.
Prime Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba said two projects worth a combined 29.5 billion shillings were aimed at ending chronic water shortages affecting residents of Namanga and Longido in Arusha region.
One scheme, valued at 16 billion shillings, channels water from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro via the River Simba source to Longido and onward to the border town of Namanga. A second project, costing 13.5 billion shillings, is expected to add more than 2 million litres of water per day from deep wells drilled in Sinya ward.
Longido, a largely pastoral district, has faced recurring droughts that have led to livestock losses and income shocks, reflecting broader climate pressures across East Africa where erratic rainfall has strained water resources and food security.
Officials said Namanga’s daily water demand stands at around 2 million litres, while current production is about 800,000 litres.
Tanzania steps up water investment as Samia’s new term hits 100 days
Nchemba urged residents to safeguard the infrastructure and said expanding access to water was part of a broader effort to improve basic services under President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration.
The prime minister also inspected a newly built secondary school in Sinya and said more than 1,300 secondary schools had been constructed nationwide in the past four years, alongside new health facilities including district hospitals, dispensaries and health centres.
At the Namanga border, he called for strengthened trade ties with neighbouring Kenya and directed tax authorities to install cargo scanning equipment to ease cross-border commerce.
Regional governments have increasingly prioritised water investment as climate change intensifies drought cycles in parts of East Africa, with infrastructure seen as critical to both social stability and economic growth.
