Residents of Chama continue to face chronic […]

Residents of Chama continue to face chronic shortages of piped water as long-promised expansions to the Eastern Water and Sewerage network remain unrealized. Currently, only about 55% of households have access to the utility’s main water pipeline, leaving the remaining 45% reliant on boreholes drilled by the local authority. Gift Kumwenda, the immediate past chairperson of Chama Town Council, told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, that despite daily supply for those connected, water is still not provided around the clock.

The challenge is further exacerbated by the town’s rapid growth and emergence of new residential areas, with infrastructure failing to keep pace. “Chama is growing very fast and new townships are coming up, but the water system has not expanded to match that growth,” Kumwenda explained.

Repeated pledges to extend the water network to underserved communities have yet to yield significant results over the past five years. Compounding the issue, Chama currently has no sewer line connections, a major sanitation concern that Kumwenda hopes will be addressed once the ongoing dam construction project is complete.

A water infrastructure project that aimed to improve services in Chama stalled in 2021 following a change in government. Since then, residents have seen little progress in both water coverage and sanitation systems. Kumwenda, who also served on the Eastern Water and Sanitation Company board, noted the Chama Town Council’s continued engagement with the utility as a shareholder.

 However, this has not yet translated into the much-needed extension of water and sanitation services. He emphasized that access to clean, reliable water remains a top priority for the community, particularly for households that still depend on boreholes. “Water is life, and people want these services brought closer to them,” Kumwenda stressed.

 Kumwenda is calling for stronger collaboration between the local authority and Eastern Water and Sewerage to establish a clear timeline for expanding water connections to new townships and addressing the district’s sanitation needs. Efforts to, however, obtain a comment from Eastern Water Supply and Sanitation Company were unsuccessful at the time of publication. Questions sent to the utility remained unanswered, with the commercial manager, Silus Luhanga, promising responses since June 18, 2026, but none have been provided to date.