By Ijendu Iheaka, Umuahia.
Abia government has said that the process of reticulating water into 620 homes in Aba and Ubakala through the Small Town Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (STWASH) project will start in November.
Abia Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Mr. Ikechukwu Monday disclose this on Thursday in Umuahia during the Abia STWASH Activity Stakeholders Engagement Workshop and Roundtable.
Monday said that every approval needed to start the project which would be undertaken in collaboration with Mercy Corps, a US-based Non-Governmental Organization, has been received.
“When we came into government and learnt of this project, we engaged this donor agency.
“The first contact we made with them was in July 2023 which is over a year that we have been planning to get to this stage.
“They have not mobilized to site but we have received all the approvals we needed and am confident that they will mobilize to site by November (2024).
“Abia people should rest assured that before the end of the administration of Gov. Alex Otti, they will have water running in their homes; this is a guarantee”, he said.
Monday said the water and sanitation project stakeholders engagement was a sensitization meeting bringing together all the critical stakeholders the project will affect.
He said the water project would rehabilitate and reticulate water to 320 homes in Ubakala and 300 homes in Aba.
“So you are having a total of 620 homes that will be connected when this project is concluded”, he said.
Monday said that the project, financed by USAID and Mercy Corps which are all US based organizations, was a grant hence a gesture the organizations should be appreciated for.
Mr. Yassin Bashir, Chief of Party, STWASH in Mercy Corps, in his speech said the project is funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“The Nigeria Small Town WASH Activity is a 5 – year USAID-funded programme.
“It began on March 19, 2020 and is being implemented by Mercy Corps in partnership with Water Aid across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) and Abia, Delta and Imo (ADI) states”, he said.
Bashir said the programme aims to strengthen the capacity and accountability of key institutions.
He explained that it is also meant to provide and sustain access to water and sanitation services for 140, 000 individuals in the BAY states and 360, 000 individuals in the ADI states.
“The programme facilitates economic recovery of crisis-affected Communities and strengthens the capacity of state governments in providing essential WASH services.
“It will also create and sustain enabling environment for Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Agencies (STWSSAs) and Water Consumers Associations (WCAs) to operate”, Bashir said.
