On Mayotte, a French island between Mozambique and Madagascar, residents face a severe shortage of clean water. Nearly 300,000 residents on many islands say there is a lack of response to the years-long drought.
CNN According to reports, Mayotte is experiencing its worst drought in 25 years, with its two reservoirs operating at less than 10% of their capacity. Authorities have implemented strict rationing of water on the island, with citizens receiving 18 hours of water “every few days,” according to a government schedule released on October 9. To make matters worse, even if residents have water supply, it is often contaminated, exacerbating outbreaks of gastroenteritis among residents.
The dire situation has sparked outrage among residents, who blame local officials and the French government. France colonized Mayotte in 1841 and declared it one of its five overseas departments in 2011. Despite being legally part of France, conditions in Mayotte are significantly worse than in mainland France.according to Associated Press, Mayotte is “the poorest place in the European Union”. Most residents live below France’s poverty line, with half earning less than $170 a month.
While water shortages are largely caused by a worsening six-year drought, residents also blame the crisis on corruption and mismanagement. A protest movement under the slogan “Mayotte is thirsty” accused officials of embezzling funds. Inspections of the island’s infrastructure have found hundreds of leaks that are wasting some of an already dwindling water supply, and officials have been slow to drill new sources or upgrade facilities to handle safe drinking water.
france international radio news network radio frequency interference Reports say government efforts to distribute water to the most vulnerable members of communities now cover the entire population. The outlet noted that “soldiers and firefighters are deployed in Mayotte to distribute approximately 330,000 liters of bottled water every day,” which is about one liter per resident per day. This distribution does not represent a long-term solution to the crisis. It could also create a new environmental disaster, producing millions of tons of plastic waste every day, far exceeding the recycling capacity of Mayotte facilities.
As the environmental crisis continues, France’s efforts to alleviate its most troubled territory appear to be insufficient, leaving Mayotte residents waiting for local officials and leaders in Paris to give the ongoing crisis the attention and resources it needs. .