By Ralph Sesay
The Board of Directors and the Newly appointed Managing Director of Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO), Joseph Munda Sandi have inspected the company’s facilities in Makeni, Bo and Kenema.
The inspection furnished SALWACO board and management with relevant data that could be used for the transformation of the company.
The data revolved around staffing arrangements, available facilities and equipment among others.
Abdul Ben Alpha is SALWACO operations manager based in Freetown. He explained about his institution’s readiness of providing water for the people of Sierra Leone.
“The tour has provided us with the challenges various regional stations face in their service delivery,” the operations manager said.
Ben Alpha cited lack of adequate man power, funding and logistical challenges as well as low connections to SALWACO water facilities by residents of Makeni, Bo and Kenema among others as factors undermining the company’s operations.
The operations manager promised to compile a report for the attention of Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders to enhance the capacity of the company.
“Adherence to the recommendations of the report will increase access to water for many provincial residents,”
SALWACO, established in 2001 by an Act of parliament, is charged with the responsibility of providing water to six provincial towns in the country.
The Act, amended in 2017, extended the institution’s mandate of providing water and sanitation services to the country’s four regions accounting for an estimated 5.6 million people, representing 80% of the country’s population. Thanks to the 2015 census.
The company currently provides water to a total of 13 towns, namely Bo, Kenema, Makeni, Lungi, Kambia, Lunsar, Magburaka, Mile 91 & Yonibana, Port Loko, Kabala, Pujehun, Kailahun and Moyamba.
But, many Sierra Leoneans have, over the years, questioned the institution’s capacity to provide water for a teeming population of Sierra Leoneans.
For a very long period, Water has remained a challenge for many Sierra Leoneans in the country’s capital, Freetown and the regional headquarters of Makeni, Bo and Kenema.
As the water challenge worsens, World Bank, in 2010, approved financing of three water projects and sanitation in the three regional headquaters.
Rising population in the three provincial towns informed the choice for the project locations. Together, they host over 10% of the country’s population, but access to safe drinking water averages around 5% and a high incidence of water borne-diseases lingers.
The projects were aimed at providing improved access to adequate, safe and reliable water and sanitation services. They were also meant to enhance SALWACO institutional, operational and management capabilities.
However, SALWACO is still confronted with challenges of water supply for Sierra Leoneans.