Govt prioritises water reticulation in Northern Province

—Government has prioritised the reticulation of water supply in Northern Province in order to provide adequate, clean and safe drinking water in the area.

Northern Province Permanent Secretary, Hlobota Nkunika, said this in a speech read on his behalf by Provincial Deputy Secretary, Alfred Sakala, during the commemoration of the World Water Day held at the civic centre in Kasama.

Mr Nkunika said the move is aimed at achieving the Seventh Millennium Development Goal which focuses on reducing the number of people without access to clean and safe drinking water by 2015.

He said government will also invest heavily in the rehabilitation of water reticulation infrastructure and improve onsite water supply points such as boreholes.

The Permanent Secretary noted that access to clean and safe water in the province still remains a huge challenge which calls for the sharing of water equitably among all citizens.

He also called on the community in the province to priorities the paying for the commodity to Chambeshi Water and Sewerage Company to sustain service provision.

Mr Nkunika also urged residents using boreholes to ensure that they are well used and maintained to reduce huge quantities going to waste.

And a Water Sanitation and Health advisor from the Netherlands Development Organization, Matilda Shatunka, thanked the government for coming up with policies that are meant to improve water supply in the province.

Mrs Shatunka noted that this will ensure that water is of sufficient quantities, good quality and will also be available and affordable to all.