Kwara govt moves to end open defecation, pays N300m counterpart fund
In its efforts to ensure the success of the Partnership for Expansion of Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (P-WASH) Programme in the State to end open defecation, the Kwara State Government has said a sum of N300 million Naira counterpart funds has been paid to kick start the project, which has enabled the State to rank higher on the clean and hygienic environment ratings than some other states in the country.
Hon. Usman Yunusa Lade, the State Commissioner for Water Resources, made this known on Wednesday at the State inter-ministerial press briefing held at the conference room of the Ministry of Finance in Ilorin, the State capital.
Hon. Lade, while reiterating the government’s commitment to ensuring that potable water supply is available to all citizens in all the nooks and crannies of the State, said the state government has renovated and rehabilitated the main building of the State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), Ilorin which is the first of its kind in the last 20 years.
The Commissioner also stated that the State government is working towards the establishment of an irrigation farming system in collaboration with the World Bank to increase and boost all-year-round farming, adding that the Omu-Aran, Duku Lade, and Malete Dams assessment have been carried out in tandem with the World Bank requirements, adding that it has also designed a 30 – years master plan in collaboration with the African Development Bank for the State’s water usage.
Giving an update on the expansion of the dam, Lade said the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the desilted Sobi Dam, recently affected by flood, as well as the rehabilitation of the Lafiagi and Zambufu Waterworks projects have been awarded, adding that the state government has completed the Ira water works in Oyun LGA and have connected a 200KVA Transformer to the national grid for the community.
The Commissioner also hinted that the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has also completed Oke-Onigbin, Isin LGA and Jeromo Oshin waterworks in Ilorin West LGA, respectively, while concluding that some rust pipes have been replaced and relocated in some parts of Ilorin Metropolis.
