HARGEISA — The European Union (EU) is to provide $30.5 million of funding for projects to rehabilitate, upgrade and extend Somaliland’s drinking supply networks in four major towns including Hargeisa.
Mr Hussein Ahmed Duale, Minister of Water and Mineral Resources, told local media during a meeting held in Hargeisa on Monday that Somalilanders will soon have access to quality water. He revealed that his Ministry will rehabilitate water storage facilities, replace existing standpipes, increase water yield and acquire new equipment to improve water quality and reduce losses.
He said four towns, namely Hargeisa, Burao, Erigavo and Wajale will benefit from the EU initiatives. Almost 70 percent ($21.3 million) of the funds will be allocated for the expansion of Hargeisa’s water facilities.
In recent years due to rapidly growing population and out-dated water infrastructure, Hargeisa suffered severe water shortages. The current water networks were built by the Chinese thirty years ago when Hargeisa had a population of 150,000. Today Hargeisa is home to more than 1.2 million people.
Mr Duale said planned works comprise the creation of reservoirs, dams, treatment facilities and the sinking, expansion and rehabilitation of new and existing wells. He said the programme aims to improve the lives of ordinary citizens in the four towns and hopes others will follow. In Burao, they aim to improve the quality of water by setting up water chlorination plants and process. Diarrhoea broke out several times in Burao and its surroundings and remains a concern for the authority in Hargeisa.
He added that in October 2010 he led a team to the Kenyan capital to meet with donors over Somaliland’s water shortages. The EU responded to his plea and this week issued him an email stating that the European organization allocated $30.5 million for the projects.
Mr Duale has an Engineering degree in Petroleum Engineering from Oklahoma University and has worked for well-established corporations before taking his current portfolio in his native country. He is considered a hard worker and is highly respected in Somaliland.
In 2009, the Ministry of health said more people were gaining access to clean and proper sanitation in Somaliland. It showed how 45-50 percent of the Somaliland population had access to safe waters compared with with 35 percent in 2000. The department however said it was not meeting international standards when it came to quantity. The average safe water available in the same period was 14-litres per person per day in the capital and 8-litres in rural areas. The United Nation recommends 20-litres/person/day.
Somalilandpress
