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In a stream in the Bomaka district of Buea, Cameroon, Emerencia Fosuh uses sand to wash her twenty-liter jerry can before filling it with water.
Fosuh, a hairdresser, has been using the stream – called “Mr Peter Water” by locals – for four years as her only source of drinking and domestic water.
“I get this water for bathing, and if I have to go to the toilet, I will ask my neighbors for water,” she told Africa Calling correspondent Batata Boris Karloff.
The jerry can is heavy and it is difficult to get it home, she said.
“I used to bathe even four times a day, but now I can’t lie, I will only bathe once. I’ve been here for four years and I’m so sick of it – I can’t keep going to people to ask for water because of this crisis, ”she adds.
Many residents of this part of Buea, the capital of the English-speaking South West region, have not had running water in their homes for years.
The four-year break in service, according to Malomba Esembe, Cameroonian MP for the urban district of Buea, is due to an industrial accident caused by ENEO, Énergie du Cameroun.
“I was made to understand that around the Molyko checkpoint, work was underway by ENEO to repair concrete pipes, which led to the destruction of one of the main pipes that supply water to this area, ”he said, after reviewing the matter and speaking with Camwater, the government water supplier.
Students also suffer
It refers to Molyko, the large student district which has a higher population than other parts of the regional capital.
For students on a tight budget, their only way to get water is to order it from local traders, called “truck pushers,” who bring it from the boreholes and sell it in the neighborhoods.
The student at Josiene Konyuy University regularly orders water. She says she doesn’t trust the source of the water she buys, but she doesn’t have much of a choice.
“The truck pushers carry the water from the borehole and since you don’t follow them to carry the water, I don’t trust the source. Since the purchase of a water container is tedious due to the distance to be covered, we only order water from the truck pushers and we pay a thousand francs, ”explains Konyuy.
The water lasts for four days, so she usually has to buy water at least twice a week, which is very expensive.
“While we are suffering for water, some people are actually taking advantage of the situation to earn money,” she adds.
It’s a booming business, according to Frankline, a truck pusher, who just sold all his water for the day.
“On a part-time basis, I can earn around 2,000-2,500 CFA (€ 3 – € 3.80) per day if my clients call me regularly. For my colleagues who are stable in the company, they can earn between 9,000 and 10,000 FCFA (€ 13.70 – € 15.20) per day, ”he says.
Truckers buy water from the owner of the borehole and vary the price of the water according to the distance they have to bring.
“In terms of distance, a gallon of water can cost 100-200CFA (0.15 € – 0.30 €), and in Molyko the cheapest price is 150CFA”.
The demand is high and he has more orders, so he needs to get more from the drilling. Although Frankline knows he is profiting from the water crisis, he has compassion for students who are forced to buy water like this.
“We sympathize with the students because it is not normal for students to buy water since water is a free good given by nature,” he tells Pidgin, noting that they already have a lot. expenses for books and accommodation.
“We feel sorry for them even though we get their money, actually, but some of us went to school and there is no work, which is why we push trucks. We urge the government to look into the situation, ”he adds.
The water needed for work and the fight against Covid-19
Hairdresser Fosuh says she earns less money because of the lack of water.
“Like now, for example. A lady came over and told me that she wanted me to put some product in her hair. I told him that I could not because of the distance to get water. I just told her to look for another saloon, ”she said.
She has lost a number of clients this way.
“Even if I come to get water before going home, I am already tired and I cannot work. Some people will want to wash their hair and do their hair, but I can’t because of the lack of water, ”she adds.
The lack of water has also affected the effectiveness of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the prescribed guidelines against the virus is to wash your hands regularly with soap and clean running water. For some residents of Buea, it is not possible to stick to this.
“If you look around town, even the buckets strategically placed for people to wash their hands are no longer present. In some establishments, it is only a bottle of disinfectant whereas it is advisable to wash your hands regularly, ”explains Konyuy, a university student.
“It’s really rare to see a bucket for washing hands and this rarity associated with COVID-19 guidelines causes a lot of problems. Molyko carries the heart of Buea in terms of population, so priority must be given here, but it is not, ”she adds.
MP Esembe says he has been assured by Camwater that repairs will be taken care of, although ENEO will foot the bill.
“They prepared a quote for the repairs to be sponsored by ENEO who did the destruction,” he said.
Esembe says Cameroonian President Paul Biya had taken out a loan from Xim Bank of China to expand water and distribution in the region.
“Buea, Tiko and Mutengene who will see among other things the construction of a treatment site in Mutengene so that the government does what needs to be done and Camwater is in charge of the implementation of government policy – they are not sleeping” , he adds, speaking of the different areas of the region.
“If you go behind my house, my drum is waiting for the rain, it is I who pray for this rainy season more than anyone,” Fosuh says.
“I actually need this rain because I don’t have the strength to come here at the creek,” she adds.
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