Sierra Leone News: Water Supply increased to 58 percent
Stephen V. Lansana
The Minister of Water Resources, Dr. Jonathan Bonapha Tengbeh said that water supply in the country has increased from 40 percent to 58 percent, according to the latest Multi Clustered Indicators Survey (MICS).
He disclosed that the River Rokel project is expected to kick off in January 2020, adding that it will be runned on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis, and that the Orugu Dam project will complement the River Rokel project.
The minister made the disclosure on Thursday September 19, 2019, when the Guma Valley Water Company inaugurated its newly constituted Board of Directors at its headquarters in Freetown.
The inaugural board meeting which was chaired by the Minister of Water Resources, Dr. Jonathan Bonapha Tengbeh attracted many stakeholders in Freetown including the Mayor of Freetown. This is the first board meeting held under President Bio’s New Direction government since the previous board was dissolved last year.
The Minister assured Her Worship the Mayor, Madam Yvonne Aki Sawyerr that Guma will support her effort to transform Freetown and in turn her Council should support Guma in the area of deterring citizens from cutting pipes and other activities that hinder water supply in the city.
The Minister said Guma Valley Water Company is one of the most important entities in the country because it is responsible for managing the water supply in Freetown and the Western Area with a population of over 1.5 million.
The Minister said that the provision of water supply is critical and that is why the appointment of Board members is based not only on experience and expertise in the water sector but also in finance and administration.
The Minister admonished the Board members to not only be around to sign documents but that they should strongly support the Management of Guma to actualised Government’s overall strategy for development of the water sector.
He therefore called on the Board members to make this dream become a reality by providing the right support to the management of Guma.
In her statement, the Her Worship the Mayor, Madam Aki Sawyer said the Freetown City Council is totally aligned and always ready to support Guma as close partners in providing water supply for Freetown. The Mayor said the issue of pipe protection could be embedded in the Freetown Cleanest Zone competition as a criterion to curb this menace.
Madam Aki Sawyerr said her Council is passionate about the environment, and that is why they planted about 23,000 trees particularly around the Tower Hill Catchment area. She said her target is to plant a million trees around Freetown.
The Managing Director of Guma, Mr. Maada Kpenge said, “The launching of the Board is a key moment for us, and I must thank the Hon Minister for fully constituting the Board fully, after the last board was dissolved last year.”
He said that even as they wait for the necessary legal instruments to be enacted that will fully transfer oversight of GVWC to the Ministry of Water Resources as pronounced by His Excellency the President, they are already benefiting immensely from his astute leadership of the Water Sector.
He highlighted that within just a few months, the Minister had launched the Urban Water Supply Roadmap of which GUMA is the main implementing agency; and sought investment partners and signed MoUs for the Rokel River Water Supply and the Orugu Project, among others.
He added that they have a huge task in improving water supply in Western Area, but he is confident that they will achieve their goal with the support of the board.
“We want to transform GUMA into one of the best performing utilities in Africa, as GUMA used to be during the first 20 years of its history. People used to come here from other countries to study our gravity system, and our water catchments,” he added. “Along the way, we seem to have lost direction. But under the New Direction, GUMA will regain its glory days.”
The Chairman of the Board, Hon Bintu Myers said, “Today, I would like to open this session by firstly reflecting on GUMA’ s performance when I took over as Chairman and the remarkable progress that GUMA is now making towards the service delivery on daily basis.”
“I am sure we will build a productive, effective and efficient GUMA in months and years to come whilst in office under the New Direction Government. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the new GUMA administration for their cooperation and hospitality in embracing us and of the team spirit exhibited,” she said. “I am expecting this team spirit to continue in enhancing the goal and Vision of the Company in complementing Government’s effort towards national development.”