Maravi

NRWSS expects to raise K923bn for water project

NRWSS expects to raise K923bn for water project
By Mulimbi Mulaliki in Solwezi
Thursday May 01, 2008 [04:00]

THE National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (NRWSS) has projected to spend K923 billion for the next 10 years to increase access to safe drinking water. Acting head for NRWSS Etambuyu Siwale said the Ministry of Local Government and Housing had come with national guidelines and policies which would be followed by both the government and cooperating partners in implementing the project.

Etambuyu said the government had shown commitment to improving access to safe drinking water by 2015 in the rural areas by increasing funding to the sector.

“We have come up with a programme for the next 10 years as a nation to improve coverage to safe, reliable and convenient quantities of water supply from the current 37 per cent to 75 per cent of the rural population by 2015.

We expect to raise K923 billion from government and cooperating partners for the project,” he said.

Etambuyu explained that the overall objective was to provide sustainable access to water supply and sanitation in rural areas so as to contribute towards poverty alleviation of Zambia’s rural population and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal for water.

And North Western Province Permanent Secretary Jeston Mulando said the programme had been developed in response to the Vision 2030 which was to create a prosperous middle-income nation.

Mulando said the government was undertaking a number of projects aimed at increasing access of communities in rural areas.

“It is however, disheartening to note that more than 40 years after independence and in spite of the many projects undertaken around the country, our people in the rural areas still lack access to safe and reliable water supply and sanitation services,” said Mulando.

Labels: INFRASTRUCTURE, NRWSS, WATER

posted by MrK @ 6:12 AM