By Mariama Marong
Over the weekend, residents of Bundung, Serekunda, and London Corner in the Kanifing Municipality faced severe water shortages, leaving communities without access to clean water for two consecutive days. The outage, which began on Saturday and persisted through Sunday, October 12th, sparked frustration and hardship among thousands who depend on a stable water supply for their daily needs.
Crowds were seen roaming the streets in search of water for drinking, cooking, and other essential chores. Many residents expressed their dismay over the situation, highlighting the impact on families, especially during the busy weekend.
Fatou Jobe, a resident of Bundung, described the ordeal: “We are used to water shortages at Bundung Bantaba and Six Junction, but this time, not having water for two whole days was very disappointing and sad.” She added that unreliable water access from the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) is a recurring problem. “Our problem still persists. We have access to water only at night. We have to make do with the situation because we have no other choice, but it is our fundamental right to have access to drinking water at any time of day,” she stressed.
Binta Bajang, from Serekunda London Corner, shared similar concerns. She criticized the lack of communication from NAWEC. “The unavailability of water for two entire days was alarming. We received no notification from NAWEC about the situation. The lack of water hampered our livelihood, especially during the weekend when we had chores to do,” she said. Binta called on NAWEC to prioritize the well-being of its consumers and urged the government to regulate persistent water challenges.
Mamfatou Drammeh, another Serekunda resident, highlighted the lengths people had to go to find water. “We went from house to house in search of borehole water, and even then, it was difficult to access. I had to go with my children to look for water to drink and do chores. We cannot afford a borehole in our compound, and NAWEC denying us water for two days was incomprehensible,” she lamented.
Some residents, like Lamin Fatty of Bundung, did what they could to help their neighbors. “It is disheartening to see women walking in the hot sun searching for water. I am privileged to have both borehole and NAWEC taps in my house, so I sacrificed to purchase large amounts of cash power so people could have access to water,” he explained.
The recurring water shortages have left many questioning NAWEC’s ability to provide this basic necessity. Nyima Jassey, from Bundung’s Six Junction, recalled even longer periods without water. “There was a time we sat for about one month without water from our taps. We had to get drinking water from Nusrat School. We are living in a stressful situation, only having water at night,” she explained. Jassey urged the government to investigate the ongoing issues and warned that residents are tired of unfulfilled promises, especially with elections approaching.
In response, NAWEC issued a press release explaining that the current disruptions were due to ongoing work to connect Bundung’s supply to the new Serekunda raw waterline as part of the OIC Road P12 project. The company cited unforeseen technical issues as the cause of the delayed connection and announced another planned interruption on October 12th from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM to complete the work. NAWEC apologized for the inconvenience and promised to restore the water supply by Sunday afternoon.
However, as of Sunday evening, many communities reported that water had not yet been fully restored, with some areas continuing to face limited or no access.
For now, residents remain concerned about the persistence of water shortages in the Kanifing Municipality and are calling for more effective solutions and timely communication from authorities.
