La Guajira in Extreme Situation Due to Water Shortage

The water shortage situation in the department of La Guajira is keeping the entire region in check. The traditionally extreme climate in the area has this year been coupled with an exceptionally harsh dry season due to the El Niño phenomenon, leaving the inhabitants of the territory on the verge of collapse.

La Guajira, located in the northeastern corner of Colombia, is a territory made up of almost 50% indigenous people: Wayuu, Kinqui, Ika, Kogui, and Wiwa. Historically, it has been an area abandoned by the Colombian state and has been the victim of political corruption, episodes that have had serious repercussions. In the last 8 years, there have been almost 300 deaths of children due to water shortages and malnutrition.

Despite the promises of the current government, the situation remains critical. Added to all this is the recent scandal with the water trucks, the State’s measure to bring water to the communities. These trucks, after being purchased by the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), never brought a single drop of water to the department.

The case led to the dismissal of the head of the UNGRD at the time, Olmedo Lopez, who is being investigated by the justice system and the government’s Transparency Secretary for irregularities in the acquisition of these vehicles.

Tanker trucks in the parking lot

As reported in the past few weeks, the water trucks acquired by the State could not leave the parking lot of the city of Uribia, in La Guajira, due to a lack of policies. Although initially there was talk of 40 water trucks, in the end, the number acquired was doubled.

According to the Secretary of Transparency, Andres Idarraga, there are a series of irregularities in the acquisition made in October 2023 for more than 46,800 million pesos, including cost overruns of more than 20,000 million. The lawyer, close to the president, announced that he would bring the case before the Attorney General’s Office. In addition to Lopez, two deputy directors and several businessmen linked to the contract are being investigated.

Although, with the change of director, the state managed to save 52,000 million pesos, after the cancellation of the contract for the purchase of up to 20 of these tankers, the water supply situation remains unresolved.

While the management of the previous director of the UNGRD is being investigated, the current director, Carlos Carrillo, stated in an interview with the newspaper El Espectador that the water tankers were a “palliative measure” in the face of a historic crisis situation that needs deeper solutions.

“The water tankers are of little use if the drinking water problem is not solved (…) La Guajira has some topographical particularities, and you can reach some urban centers with the water tankers, but it will be difficult to reach all the villages of La Alta Guajira”, said Carrillo at the time.

Long-term solution needed

The new head of the UNGRD seeks to take responsibility and accelerate the operation of the water trucks. The idea is to intervene urgently and punctually to bring water, but the entity’s challenge is to find a complex, long-term solution.

In the meantime, the inhabitants of the department continue to suffer the consequences of not having water in their homes, with the consequent problems and serious effects on their health.

La Guajira is a department with a desert-like nature. The mining projects that have proliferated in recent years have led the indigenous people to a state of malnutrition that has claimed hundreds of lives, especially among children.

All this is coupled with incessant political corruption that, in tandem with the diverting of funds by public works contractors, has been unbalancing the region’s public finances for decades. According to official data, the department received 4 billion pesos in royalties between 2012 and 2023 that financed 1055 ornamental works projects, without addressing the real problem of lack of water and pressing malnutrition.

During the last week of June 2023, President Petro’s full government moved to La Guajira, where he dispatched his government duties for 7 days. From the territory, various investment projects for the department were discussed, with the water problem at the center.

Sandra Ortiz, the Councilor for the Regions of the Presidency, affirmed then that La Guajira was an “absolute priority” for the government. There was talk of public investment in infrastructure: wind energy, a new airport, and hospital facilities.

As of today, the department remains unprotected in the face of the worsening water crisis caused by El Niño, without any real solutions to a historical and structural problem, that has been immutable in the history of Colombia.