Mbah Commissions Schemes To End Water Scarcity In Enugu
There was excitement in Enugu State Saturday as Governor Peter Mbah made good his promise of delivering potable water to the residents within 180 days of his administration.
Mbah, who commissioned multi-million naira water schemes at Ninth Mile corner and Oji River with the capacity to deliver 120 million litres of potable water daily built by his administration to the delight of the residents, stated that the development marked an end to perennial water scarcity in the state.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 70 million litres capacity Ninth Mile Enugu water scheme, the governor advised water tanker owners in the state to invest in other businesses, stating that the restoration of water supply was key to the achievement of his objective to take the state’s GDP from the current position of $4.4 billion to $30 billion within the next four to eight years.
He said: “This led to the situation we are dealing with now, where families have to queue endlessly to fetch water from tanker trucks who supply water in a very unreliable and epileptic fashion. Businesses on the other hand were forced to invest in extensive water infrastructure from tankage to additional reticulation and for large scale users like hotels, hospitals etc. many of them actually had to acquire tanker trucks of their own to afford themselves some reliability of supply.
“Faced with this fundamental issue, and considering the suffering of Ndi Enugu, it was only natural that we identified provision of water as one of our first targets in the drive to execute our mandate and social contract with citizens of Enugu.”
We also chose to give ourselves a target of resolving this challenge in 180 days not for the purpose of chest-thumping but rather because firstly, the issue is urgent.
“We did not want Ndi Enugu to suffer unduly for even one minute longer than avoidable, and secondly we saw this as an opportunity to galvanise Ndi Enugu for the tough tasks ahead and whip our administration into gear as quickly as possible.”
Explaining that many residents had doubted his administration’s commitment to the promise of regular water supply within a stipulated time, he stated that the 120 million litres schemes were the first phase in the realisation of 200 million litres daily water supply to capture new layouts in the state.
“We are currently supplying water at appreciable pressures to Enugu municipality and I can state here and now that pipe-borne water is here to stay. Now, the businesses in Enugu can just connect to public water and pay monthly water rates like is the practice in other advanced environments. Those of them who have invested in water tankers can put them up for sale and free up capital for other uses,” he said.
Turning to water tanker operators, he added: “It will become necessary to remodel your businesses in this new era. We have delivered enough water for Enugu metropolis, and that is indeed praiseworthy. However, it is certainly not yet time to shout ‘uhuru’. That is because the existing water pipe network does not service a number of major residential areas which developed since the last major pipe laying projects in Enugu. We will need to continue the effort to extend pipe born water to them.
“In addition, the towns outside Enugu also have varied degrees of water problems. Now that we can see the end of the water issues around Enugu urban, we must not refocus to address towns like Nsukka, Oji, Udi.”
Mbah added that the second phase of borehole construction at Ninth Mile would deliver another 16 boreholes and additional water, assuring that there would be availability of supply due to the 4.4MW power provided at the scheme.
