Mauritius Water Tank Scheme Hits Supply Crisis With 20,000 Approved

Mauritius's Water Tank Scheme, launched to help households store water during a period of increasing drought, is running into serious supply problems despite strong public uptake.

According to Shyam Thannoo, Director General of the Central Water Authority (CWA), a total of 42,417 applications have been registered on the scheme's server. Of those, 30,758 have been processed and 20,508 have been approved. The Development Bank of Mauritius (DBM), which manages the financial side of the programme, has so far issued 10,640 vouchers to eligible applicants.

The CWA is the state body responsible for water supply and distribution across Mauritius, while the DBM is a government-owned development bank that handles subsidy disbursements and financing for social programmes.

Despite this progress, the scheme is struggling to deliver on the ground. Local manufacturers and suppliers were reportedly caught off guard by the speed and scale of demand following the programme's launch, and many are now unable to fulfil orders in a timely manner.

A further sticking point is the value of the subsidy itself. The government offers a grant of Rs 15,000 per household, but several suppliers argue this amount is not enough to cover the full package, which includes two water storage tanks, a water pump, and the necessary accessories and fittings. The gap between the subsidy and the actual cost is creating friction in the supply chain and may be discouraging some vendors from participating.

To break the deadlock, the government is reportedly considering calling on the State Trading Corporation (STC) to import water tanks directly. The STC is a state-owned body that already handles the importation of essential goods such as fuel, flour and rice, and it has the infrastructure and procurement capacity to source large volumes of goods from overseas suppliers. It is not yet clear which countries or manufacturers the STC would approach for this purpose.

What this means: For the tens of thousands of Mauritian families who have applied and been approved, the wait for equipment could continue until a reliable import solution is found. The scheme was designed to give lower-income households the means to store water at home, reducing their dependence on intermittent pipe supply, particularly during dry spells. If the STC steps in, it could speed up delivery significantly, but the question of whether the Rs 15,000 subsidy will be revised to reflect real market costs remains open. Households that have already received their DBM vouchers should monitor official CWA communications for updates on when and where they can redeem them.

Source: ION News