As one way of complementing government’s efforts in providing safe and clean water to the citizenry, Pacific Limited is carrying out borehole rehabilitation program in all the country’s constituencies.
This is according to the company’s founder Faizal Aboo who said the borehole rehabilitation program which is to be done nationwide, is the company’s major Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Aboo said they are carrying out the initiative alongside Members of Parliament whose duty is just to identify non-functioning boreholes in their areas.
He said they have since instituted two teams which they split to work in two different constituencies for a period of one month and he added that he is so hopeful that the initiative will assist people who do not have access to clean and safe water, particularly in rural areas.
“As you are aware, statistics from National Statistics Office (NSO), clearly shows that large portion of our population leaves in rural areas where most people do not have tapped water. Their main source of drinking water are boreholes.
“Our assessment shows that there are more than 20, 000 non-functional boreholes countrywide. So, we feel that to drill a new borehole is an expensive exercise which can cost the Malawi government millions of Kwachas, hence our volunteering to rehabilitate all those non-functional boreholes in the country,” said Aboo.
One of the constituents in Ntcheu North East constituency, Mary Bandawe, commended the Pacific Limited for the Borehole Rehabilitation program which she said will help her community in accessing potable water.
Bandawe said before the borehole, they used to rely on water from a surrounding river where their livestock directly quench thirst from, thereby increasing the possibility of people contracting waterborne diseases.
“For the past six years, life has been so tough in our area. We have been using water from a river, as a result we have been recording more cases of waterborne diseases but we can now breathe a sigh of relief,” said Bandawe.
Speaker for the Malawi Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara who admitted that government has for years been failing to carry out a similar exercise on monetary grounds, said the initiative is saving a lot of lives as people are accessing clean and safe water.
Meanwhile, the multimillion project has been completed in over ten constituencies including; Lilongwe North East, Zomba Ntonya, Kasungu East, Dowa Central, Salima Central, Nkhotakota North, Kasungu North and Mzimba North East.
