By The Arusha News Reporter
Nanja Dam, the lifeline for more than 50,000 people in three wards of lower Monduli district, has dried up completely this season, leading to a highly disrupted pattern of subsistence for many of the mostly pastoral villagers in an area some 40 kilometres only west of Arusha city. Grandmother Komolo Lengilasi told The Arusha News that the condition had hit women, children and the elderly the hardest, describing the situation further as frightening as it was something that had never happened at least in the past three years. “Our young men (Morans) now wake up at around 4:00 am and head out in all directions in search of water and greener pastures for the animals we keep. Some go to Longido, Makuyuni and Simanjiro, which are also arid,” she said and added, “but what else to do? Something is better than nothing.” Community elder, Parteo Mollel, said the dam, once teeming with life, including water birds, has been dying slowly at least for the last three years.
However, environmental expert, Alais Morindat blamed silting caused by cultivation in the hills surrounding the dam as the real problem. “Our forefathers never allowed cutting trees or farming in the hills, which is now ignored. What we are seeing is actually the result of wheat farming, which some people have taken up along with livestock keeping,” he said. The Arusha News first reported about the plight of Nanja Dam in our March 8-14, 2025 issue when due to the prolonged dry spell, life again became almost unbearable with a 20-litre water container selling for Sh 500 then.
Mr Kidon Mkuu, Coordinator of the non-profit Wildlife and Environmental Care Initiative (WECI) said the same container costs Sh 600 now, warning the situation could get worse. In May, District Commissioner (DC), Mr Festo Kiswaga, told The Arusha News that Monduli was known for its arid nature, but the government was implementing a Sh 20.3bn water supply project to 13 villages to help ease the shortage. Also, the government had last December released Sh 300m in intervention measures, as he also thanked “Good Samaritans,” whom he did not mention.
