Sioma Town Council in Western Province has constructed a water reticulation system at Sioma Secondary School at over K400,000 using the 2022 Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

Council Director for Engineering Services, Lameck Daka, has told ZANIS in an interview that the water system at the school was set up at a cost of K447, 450 to provide clean and safe drinking water at the learning institution.

Mr Daka said the local authority decided to tap water from the Zambezi river because underground water in the area is salty.

“We have installed some pumps and filters at the Zambezi river to pump water to the school. We have installed two 10,000 litre water tanks at the school, bringing the total capacity of water to 20,000 litres,” he added.

And speaking in a separate interview, Acting Headteacher at the school, Fredy Kulimbulula said the quality of water at the school was poor as the water tasted salty, which prompted some pupils to get water for drinking from the nearby Zambezi river.

Mr Kulimbulula said the move by the pupils to get water from the river was worrisome as the river is infested with crocodiles.

“We sank two boreholes at the school but the challenge here is that the water here is too salty.  The pipes would get worn out very often,” he said.

He explained that the school appealed to the local authority and a positive response came through.

“The pupils now no longer go to the river. The school production unit is also improving due to good quality water,” he added.

He appreciated the support from the local authority, which also includes school bursaries for children in boarding school.

“We have 97 CDF sponsored pupils under Sioma Council and seven pupils under the Mulobezi Town Council. The council also gave us 188 brand new mattresses,” he said.

Mr Kulimbulula charged that he has witnessed and can attest that CDF does transform lives.

“We are very grateful for the help from the CDF. Most of the pupils are now in boarding school,” added Mr Kulimbulula.