Association Seeks Political Will For Water Roadmap

Mr Oladimeji Muse, General Secretary, Nigeria Water and Sanitation Association (NIWASA), on Wednesday in Lagos urged the government to show enough political will in creating access to potable water.

Muse, who spoke against the backdrop of the inauguration of a roadmap for the country’s water sector by President Goodluck Jonathan, noted that policy summersault had been a challenge.

Jonathan had on January 17 in Abuja inaugurated the roadmap aimed at making potable water available in communities across the country by 2015.

“Past administrations have always paid lip service to the issue of water supply in the country.

“Lack of continuity and policy summersaults had over the years been a major obstacle to government’s effort in giving Nigerians uninterrupted, clean water,” Muse told our correspondent.·

He added: “Although the new roadmap appears good in concept, government must for once show the political will to see water sector development policies through.

Muse also urged the government to expedite action on the construction of more dams to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on water and sanitation by 2015.

The NIWASA secretary decried what he called the harrowing experience of poor people in getting water because of its commercialisation by governments at all levels.

“The commercialisation of water and the search for it by the poor is affecting access to water. “Government should consider the population in a particular community in the course of implementing the roadmap.

“We should be able to project the population growth rate and their water consumption pattern when planning for the development of the sector,” Muse said.