The citizens of Aweil Center County in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State have complained that they cannot access clean water due to the inadequate number of water stations in the county.
Several of the residents who spoke to Radio Tamazuj Monday revealed that fights break out at the few watering points because of a surge in the population
Marko Guot of Aroyo village in the county headquarters said many of the problems in his locality revolve around poor access to clean water.
“If you come to Aroyo, you will find all problems are connected with water disputes over boreholes,” Guot said. “People fight every day at boreholes in Aweil Center. Most of the cases at the police station are caused by women and girls fighting for water.”
Another resident, Abuk Zubeir, said before the Aroyo River got contaminated and fish started dying, they use to fetch water from there.
“There is not enough water at all,” Abuk said. “Some people who used to fetch water at Aroyo River before it was contaminated with the deadly disease which kills fish. Now we are facing difficulties.”
She said people spend many hours in long lines to fetch water for their families.
The Aweil Center County Commissioner, Peter Natale, admitted that there are insufficient water stations to service the growing population but that the local government was prioritizing the issue.
“The key priority for the county at the moment is water because we are approaching the dry season,” Commissioner Natale said. “We need to come up with water projects and this can be done by the partner organizations and the state government has a commitment to ensure the case is addressed.”
He said the county has a population of nearly 200, 000 people and that out of 60 boreholes, many had broken down.