Agweng East residents raise alarm over worsening water scarcity

19 December 2025, 4:25 pm

By Golden Vicky Ayiro

Clean and safe water is a prerequisite for human survival. However, at least 97 households in Agweng East village, Aringobom, Tyer Parish in Pader District, are grappling with acute shortages of safe drinking water.

The residents have raised alarm over the worsening water scarcity, with the populous struggling to access safe drinking water.

Aringobom has two villages—Agweng East, which hosts the majority of residents, and Agweng West, with fewer than five households. Despite the population imbalance, the only existing safe water source in the area is located closer to Agweng West, leaving residents of Agweng East with limited options.

In response to the worsening situation, residents of Tyer Parish are appealing to local leaders, government authorities, and development partners to intervene and address the long-standing water crisis.

Speaking to our reporter, Mr. Okello Simon Ludyelo, a resident of Agweng East, says that since people returned from the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, only one borehole was established near Agweng West. As a result, residents of Agweng East are forced to fetch water from distant swamps locally known as Wang-Acii,Guti,and Otaka. He adds that the swamps serve a number of activities, which include source of water for domestic use, swimming and animals also drink from them.

“We reported this issue to local authorities, but up to now there has been no clear response,” Okello said.

He adds that during the rainy season, some residents resort to digging shallow holes to collect rainwater for domestic use—water that is unsafe for consumption.

The District Councillor for Pader Sub-county, Okwir C. Ray, acknowledged receiving complaints from the affected residents. He attributed the challenge to the administrative split of the two villages, which left the more populous Agweng East at a considerable distance from the original borehole shared with Agweng West.

Okwir noted that all 30 villages in Pader Sub-county each have at least one borehole, but emphasized that development priorities depend on community planning processes.

“Agweng village did not prioritize water in the Sub-county Development Plan, and the District Development Plan also did not capture a request for a new water source,” he explained.

He advised residents to prioritize water projects during community planning and encouraged them to seek support through lobbying non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Efforts to obtain a comment from the District Water Officer (DWO), Mr. Olanya Patrick, were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to repeated phone calls by press time.

Meanwhile, residents of Agweng East continue to wait anxiously for a clear and concrete response from the responsible authorities.