MoWE TARGET SUPPLY OF PORTABLE WATER FOR CITIZEN IN ETHIOPIA

Combined efforts among stakeholders are required to achieve the Water for Life Plus Project which targets supplying potable water to 1.6 million citizens, the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) said.

MoWE Minister’s Senior Advisor Abera Endeshaw told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) that the Water for life plus project was launched two years ago to help 1.6 million Ethiopians with access to clean water and energy.

The project which aimed at improving the quality of health and education among others incorporates 318 healthcare facilities and 587 schools, he stated, adding that so far28 healthcare facilities and over 45 schools enabled to have basic access to drinking water.

Health State Minister Dereje Duguma (MD) believed that the project is crucial to benefit society by improving health through addressing potable water which is the most necessary input.

However, the absence of checks and balances has affected the project execution performance, he added.

Over the past two years, only 224,359 people benefited from the project that was planned to reach 800,000 citizens with potable water, so said Ermias Mekonnen, Water for Life plus Project Audit Coordinator at MoWE.

By the same token, only 45 water wells were drilled from the planned 244 wells designed to be prepared in the same period, he mentioned.

There are also water bores that don’t contain water while some water wells either have a high level of fluoride content or have no information that shows the amount, he stressed.

As to Dereje, establishing close cooperation among stakeholders, strengthening the project management unit, and ensuring leadership involvement is crucial to resolving bottlenecks and making the project effective to bear sustainable fruits.

Ermias on his part suggested that purchasing specified drilling machines, conducting geological surveys before drilling, and creating close cooperation between the program management unit, the steering committee, and other stakeholders is essential to achieve the project.

The Water for life plus project is being implemented in 10 woredas in Afar, Amhara, Beninshangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Oromia, SNNPs, Somali, and Tigray states with 239 million USD budgeted by the Ethiopian government and Children’s Investment Fund (CIFF), it was learnt.