By Yang Ater Yang
Lakes State government in collaboration with the Centre for Emergency and Development (CEDS), has launched a sustainable WASH programme.
Netherlands government funds the project through the United Nations Children’s Education Fund, (UNICEF), and implemented by Centre for Emergency and Development.
The Sustainable Wash resilient programme partnership for resilience and recovery (PFRR) will see rehabilitation of boreholes and water yards systems and community-led total sanitation (ClTS).
The project is set to be implemented in the three counties of Rumbek Centre, Rumbek East, and Rumbek North, respectively.
Lakes State minister of agriculture, environment, and forestry, Poth Majak Dajang, who is also the caretaker minister of land, housing, and public utilities witnessed the launch of the project.
According to the minister, it is phase 3 of the project, in which phases 1 and 2 were successfully implemented, and now the last phase takes off.
The major objective of the project is the rehabilitation of boreholes and water yard systems in the three counties of Rumbek Centre, Rumbek East, and Rumbek North.
“We have some discussion, and the major one is the sustainability of this (water and sanitation) project because once the boreholes and water yard systems are not maintained, they are difficult to sustain if the partners are no longer there and the community owns the asset,” he said.
Minister Majak said as a government, they have taken a responsibility to engage the community and to make those who are not sustaining their boreholes and water yards systems to face the consequences of not being supported.
“So, we assure our partners that this time we will cooperate with them, and we will engage our community to make sure the existing boreholes and water yard systems are maintained by the community for the organization to priorities other areas of need.
The director of water in the state ministry of housing, land, and public utilities in Lakes State, Barnaba Makuac Magol, said they have 64 rehabilitation programmes and 70 water quality testing and conservation programmes in 30 villages in these three counties.
“In fact, we were here; we brought in the three county authorities, the WASH department of water, youth, and women to participate in the lunch of the project, and they have given their recommendations,” he said.
He said one of the key issues that came out was the sustainability of boreholes, and already the community members have accepted to collect tariffs for the sustainability of the water points.
“When they are collecting tariffs, the power mechanic association and the water management committee will be able to actually sustain their own boreholes in the coming days and years.”
Barnaba lauded the development partners and donors, particularly UNICEF and the Netherlands government, for their support of the local communities in the state.
CEDS Wash engineer and sub-cluster Wash coordinator for Lakes State, David Ayuen Mawel, said phase 3 of the project will run till July next year.
“What we are going to implement in that project is the rehabilitation of 64 boreholes, and then we are going to rehabilitate six (6) water yards in Rumbek North that are completely down and not functional,” he highlighted the project areas.
In the area of hygiene promotion, Ayuen noted that they are going to train school health clubs, carry out some campaigns on hygiene, and then train PTAs in the schools.
He added that they are also going to be strengthening institutional capacity, like the database in the ministry, and then building the capacity of government personnel, like rural water development units.
“Funds are becoming a big issue, actually, and that’s why we’re still targeting the three counties, and up to this point, we really begged for the sustainability of what we are going to do and what we have done previously. Mr. Ayuen appealed.