Kwara State Government has assured the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Abuja of its support and cooperation for the consultants who visited the state to map out a strategic master plan in the area of potable water supply and sanitation in the state.
The State Commissioner for Water Resources, Hon.Usman Yunusa Lade, reiterated the state government’s commitment to the team of consultants during a meeting held at the Ministry of Water Resources, Ilorin the state capital.
The Commissioner said that the visit of the Consultants was a timely one as the state government was considering ways to come up with appropriate policies that would attract public-private partnerships and potential investors to the state.
Hon.Lade explained further that the state government is also planning to bring up pocket water works for developing Estates to reduce indiscriminate drilling of boreholes in the state.
He said that the challenges of erratic power supply have always been a serious threat to the effective and efficient performance of the waterworks across the state, adding that by 2024, solar energy as an alternative source of power for water facilities will be included in the budget.
He intimated that people should be willing to pay for the service of providing potable water supply for usage which he said will be used to augment government spending in maintaining the facilities.
“It is not encouraging when the government invests millions of naira in the water sector and gains little or nothing at all. If people can pay for the electricity Supply they consume there is no reason they should not be able to pay for water too, he said.
He appealed to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Abuja to help discuss and mobilize investors and major stakeholders to invest in the sector and to put up policies on how best the sector can be managed.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Christiana Omolola Asonibare, solicited the help of the consultant team on the possible means for the state government to generate revenue from the sector after investing millions of naira in the water sector since the administration of Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq came on board.
Earlier, the Project Director from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Dr . Linda Akpan, said that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources has been seeking funding from the African Development Bank and decided to assist states in developing a water supply and sanitation master plan.
She stressed that before any state can get support from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, the state must have a workable strategic master plan that is desirous.
Sharing her experience, she emphasized that the scope of their assignment is to focus on urban areas and to conduct a diagnostic assessment of urban water facilities to know their current status across the board.
Mrs.Linda also added that the consultant team will come up with a sector review report and once it is accepted the next line of action is to document the master plan and things becomes easy for the investors to pick an area to support the state.
The Acting General Manager of Kwara State Water Corporation, Mallam Buhari Kayode Sani, in his submission, enumerated the major urban areas including Ilorin, Offa, Omuaran, Jebba, Lafiagi Patigi, Kaiama, Baruten, among others in the state.
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