By Aminata Phidelia Allie
In an effort to increase water supply in rural Sierra Leone, the country's water company, SALWACO, has signed a nine-month contract for the construction of new containerised water treatment plant for Blama, Bandawor and six surrounding villages, as well as production and transmission of the liquid resource.
The production and transmission system will include the design, construction, supply and installation of the plant while transmission will involve the construction of pipelines.
The contract, which was awarded to Larica Investment Sierra Leone Limited in partnership with Sotrad Water of Belgium, was signed last week in Freetown.
Speaking at the ceremony, SALWACO’s Director General, Samuel Bangura said the company’s move in the supply of water across the county was on the rise. As the company responsible to providing water for about 45% of the country, Bangura said that water had already been taken to “several cities, district headquarter towns and villages".
Recently, he announced, the company secured a grant from ECOWAS “to move water to Ebola affected communities”, adding: “if we do not have pure drinking water, the crisis will be a bigger menace than the Ebola menace”.
He said the country needed to clean hygienic drinking water if it was to succeed in the fight against Ebola because without safe water “the death rate will be higher”.
Minister of Water Resources, Momodu Maligie advised the community people to ensure the distribution network covered that intended areas in their monitoring and evaluation process. He said that for things to work the right way, “we need an all-inclusive system of management. It is no longer the central government sitting in Freetown and managing in Blama”.
He said the technology that would be used in the construction, installation and transmission of the water was a new one, adding that there was no cause for fear or doubt in the contractors.
Chief Executive Director of Sotrad Water thanked the ministry for awarding them the contract and pledged their unflinching support to SALWACO and the water ministry for a continuous working relationship. Noting that there were challenges in the Lunsar water plant, Williams assured that those challenges had served as a step up towards the Blama/Badawor project. He said the problems in Lunsar would be rectified as soon as possible.
On technology he said “it is very simple and allows for the production of water without the use of chemicals. We only inject chemicals into the water later to keep your pipes and tanks disinfected”.
With a population of about 10,000 people, Blama is a small town in the small Bo Chiefdom in Kenema District. In 1980, it formed part of a project for the construction of pipe-borne water supply system for 4 supply system for 42 towns across the country. The project was halted as the township was attacked during the war.
Since then, the people of Blama have relied on streams and wells as sources of water, most of which are unprotected.
The total amount of cash involved in the project is Le 13 Billion.
(C) Politico 28/08/14
