Minister of Water Development and Sanitation Mike Mposha says about 3.3 million people are set to benefit from access to water and sanitation services once the various projects being implemented under the Ministry are completed.
Mr Mposha cited the ongoing projects in Luapula, Muchinga, Northern, Copperbelt and Western provinces as part of those that have reached an advanced stage and are almost nearing completion.
He indicated that over 53, 000 thousand jobs have also been created for citizens from the same projects.
Mr Mposha said this when he officially opened a Troika Meeting at Cresta Golf View Hotel in Lusaka today.
He mentioned that the Ministry is making strides towards achieving the national goal of universal coverage for water and sanitation by 2030.
Mr Mposha highlighted various achievements that the Ministry has scored since the last Troika meeting held in March last year.
“The Ministerial strategic plan, national non-revenue water management strategy and integrated management information system launched in January this year and the finalization of the water policy which is awaiting cabinet approval are part of the achievements we have made,” he said.
The Minister further indicated that the ministry had commenced the review of the water resources management (WRM) Act No 21 of 2011 to address’s existing gaps in the sector.
Mr Mposha however indicated that alongside the many achievements, the ministry has encountered several challenges among them delayed completion of projects and poor performance by contractors.
He stressed that while government wants to empower local contractors, it has a duty to deliver quality services to the people on time.
“I’m appealing to our citizen bidders contractors to improve and ensure to deliver quality projects because we as government we are in a hurry to deliver to our people,”
Mr Mposha stated that the ministry is enhancing its monitoring and revelation of projects and has since commenced the termination of poor performing contracts.
And Lead Water Sector Cooperating Partner African Development (ADB) Bank representative Herbert Chinokoro says Zambia’s water sector has continued to make progress despite the challenges such as the cholera pandemic and current drought.
Mr Chinokoro commended the government for its commitment and efforts in addressing the impact of the drought across the country.
“I’d like to thank the ministry for the invitation to the cooperating partner group for this high level dialogue to discuss sector progress and government priority areas on the drought response plan for us to collaborate for 2024 and beyond,” he said.
The meeting which was attended by various stakeholders among them the World Bank, UNICEF, NWASCO, German Embassy, WASH, WARMA and others is set to provide an opportunity for Troika members to review progress made on various issues in the water sector.
