Is the govt or rain witches to blame for water crisis in Dar?
Sand River in Tanzania. It is the rhythm of the land that sustains us, the sum total of what we do and how we manage our water systems and our environment. PHOTO | TONY KARUMBA | AFP
“If they give us the country, these water troubles will disappear” said my enthusiastic young mentee. He spoke with the absolute confidence of someone who believes in the future unabashedly, the confidence of untried youth. I envy him that but I simply asked if he believed the Dar water shortage was something the government did on purpose to which he pretty much said “yes.”
I asked him if it was their fault that the rainfall this year had been reported as being low from the first quarter of the year, that farmers were suffering crop failures, and did he see any connection between all of these things? I hoped he might mention the water cycle in some way, perhaps. But no: it is the government’s fault.
