2023-09-02 21:30:56
A resident fills jerrycans with water in Koungou, May 23, 2023 in Mayotte. PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP
An express round trip to Mayotte. Traveling to the Indian Ocean, the new Minister Delegate for Overseas Territories, Philippe Vigier, left Roland-Garros air base 181 in Reunion on Saturday, September 2, for four hours of outward flights, and four hours return. by Casa CN235 military plane, due to a lack of commercial flights, in order to “ensure the proper implementation of the emergency plan to combat the water crisis”. Time to announce what he describes as “a real Marshall plan for Mayotte”.
For several months, the 300,000 inhabitants – but rather 500,000, according to several local elected officials due to illegal immigration from the Comoros – have been facing severe water cuts due to a historic drought – the most important since 1997 – failing infrastructure and never-realized investments. For ” have “ until the rainy season, which will not arrive before November, restrictive measures will apply from Monday 4 September. Water will only flow from the tap every third day.
Admitting that “the situation that Mahoraises and Mahoraises live in terms of water was unacceptable”, Philippe Vigier announced that “Bottled water will be distributed to vulnerable people at the rate of 2 liters per day and per beneficiary”. Thirty thousand people have already been identified by the Regional Health Agency (ARS), including pregnant women and women. Bottles must be imported from Réunion and Mauritius. In addition, aid will be created for companies “whose activity is significantly impeded or completely stopped due to water cuts”.
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The Minister Delegate for Overseas returned to the measures already announced locally. Work in progress aims to ensure a better distribution of water on the network between the north of the island and the south, which suffers the most. A leak repair plan (estimated at 25-30% of the volume distributed) is programmed. A campaign of new drilling and search for catchments must be launched. Work is aimed at increasing the capacity of the desalination plant on the island of Petite-Terre, which is not operating at full capacity. Fifteen tanks will be installed on the territory to build up stocks. According to Gilles Cantal, prefect in charge of water, the State has committed nearly 30 million euros.
The “water crisis is coupled with a health crisis”
Saturday morning, Philippe Vigier confirmed the financing by the State of an osmosis unit to transform seawater into drinking water with a capacity of 1,000 cubic meters – without specifying the timetable for its installation. Monday, August 28, the director of ARS Mayotte, Olivier Brahic, had informed that the quality controls of the water which remains distributed were going to be doubled to prevent the “the water crisis is coupled with a health crisis”. Mr. Vigier asked that these controls be communicated to the seventeen municipalities of the island.
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