The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, has called for rubost Public Private Partnership investments in the water sector to achieve sustainable and equitable access to water and sanitation services for Nigerians.
Professor Utsev, who made the call recently at the 5th Lagos State International Water Conference at Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, particularly urged state governors , development partners and the private sector to prioritise more investment in the sector. He further stressed that the Federal Government will continue to support states through interventions to achieve access to clean and safe water and improve sanitation for all.
He pointed out that Lagos, being the most populous and economically vibrant city in the country, was still grappling with significant challenges in providing adequate water and sanitation services for its teaming population stressing that such public private partnership will ensure a robust collaboration between government agencies and private sector to invest more resources in the water sector.
According to the Minister, the PPPs can also attract private investment, improve efficiency and ensure sustainable service delivery while the government can leverage on private sector expertise and capital to upgrade existing water infrastructure and expand coverage to underserved areas.
Utsev also advocated community based organisations that would mobilise resources and implement low-cost, decentralised solutions toilored to local needs especially in areas of operation and maintenance .
Highlighting the importance of international development assistance, he said such partnership was also key in financing water and sanitation projects in Nigeria, noting that the multilateral organisations, bilateral donors and development agencies were also important in providing grants, loans and technical assistance to support water infrastructure development.
On the issue of Cholera outbreak in the country, the Water Resources and Sanitation Minister said his ministry has taken proactive steps to prevent further spread of the water-borne disease in the country, including the reactivation of the ministry’s laboratories across the six geopolitical zones of the country, massive sensitization of citizens on the need to improve on personal hygiene, and ensure that every water meant for use is properly treated or boiled, while foods and vegetables are also cooked before consumption.
Utsev also called on state governors, traditional rulers and religious leaders to scale up campaign against open defecation in their states and build more decent toilets for their people to discourage the practice of open defecation. This, he said, is also to enable the country achieve the open defecation-free target by next year.
Speaking at the conference, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said his administration has in the last five years been committed to addressing the water needs of his citizens.
Governor Sanwo-Olu however said despite his concerted efforts, there was still a huge gab in achieving access to clean and safe water for his people. The Lagos governor further called for more genuine and practical actions and support from the Federal Government, development partners and other critical stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector to address the water needs in the country, especially in Lagos State.
The three-day international conference with the theme: Financing Water and Sanitation for a Greater Lagos, featured presentations from the Consul General of Denmark in Lagos, Mrs. Jette Bjerrum; as well as from USAID and other development partners.
