Peter Mbah. |
Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has commissioned a 70 million litre per day water project in Enugu, saying his administration had raised potable water production capacity from the occasional 2 million litres per day to 120 million litres per day.
Commissioning the project known as the 9th Mile 24/7 Water
Scheme on Saturday in fulfillment of his campaign promise to restore water to
Enugu city in 180 days from the date of his inauguration, Dr. Mbah explained
that the 4.4mw gas-powered plant built by his administration to supply power at
the scheme would ensure uninterrupted water supply to Enugu residents.
Regretting the dire water challenges faced by Enugu residents
before now, he said availability of potable water was consequential to his
administration’s vision to raise the state’s economy from $.4.4 billion to $30
billion GDP in four to eight years.
“It was clear to us, that the status of water supply at the
time was deplorable. At that time, there had been no reliable water supply in
most parts of Enugu State for almost 20 years.
“One need not be a rocket scientist to discern that few
investors will be attracted to the state under such dire circumstances, nor can
existing businesses expand to generate additional jobs and economic growth. If
anything, these conditions are suffocating businesses and households and
leading to unnecessary suffering across the State.
“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
first, the issue is urgent. We did not want Ndi Enugu to suffer unduly for even
one minute longer than avoidable, and, second, we saw this as an opportunity to
galvanize Ndi Enugu for the tough tasks ahead and whip our administration into
gear as quickly as possible,” he said.
Mbah recalled that the promise to provide potable water
within the timeline of 180 days “triggered disbelief in most quarters and that
is perhaps understandable, realising the countless successive, but fruitless
attempts to address the problem.
“Happily, for us all, here we are, 180 days from that
promise, commissioning this new ultra-modern water scheme with a capacity to
deliver to businesses and families in Enugu 70 million litres of potable water
daily and this is but the first phase. In a few weeks, we will also be
commissioning new pumps in Oji water scheme to enable us to deliver another 50
million litres of water everyday. This will give us a total daily delivery of
120 million litres in Enugu, about twice the daily demand of Enugu urban.
“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,” Mbah said.
While acknowledging some challenges in the downstream part of
the water supply, he stressed: “Of course, there are instances of burst pipes
around the metropolis, but this was not unexpected, given the age of a number
of our lines. However, these constitute but teething problems which we will
surely surmount in a matter of weeks and constant water 365 days of the year
will once again be a reality in Enugu.”
The governor equally assured that effort would be intensified
to extend pipe-borne water to a number of major residential areas, which
developed since the last major pipe-laying projects in Enugu.
“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 now refocus to address towns like Nsukka, Oji, Udi,
etc.,” he said, urging the cooperation of the residents in the payment for
services and protection of the facilities.
“Reliable water supply is not cheap! But I promise that this
water will be far less expensive than what you are spending today on water
tanker supply. We must be willing to pay for connection to the meters, which
will be installed in our homes and businesses, and pay a fair monthly rate for
the water we consume.
“Second, the infrastructure that we have put in place, from
this scheme here to the pipes going into our various residential areas, belong
to Ndi Enugu and must be optimised. We cannot afford for them to be vandalized
or stolen! Therefore, we must consider it our duty to look after this
infrastructure”, he said.
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