Drinking water

Tunis (Tunisie), 8 janvier 2014 – Ce sont plus de 4 millions de personnes, résidant au Togo et au Ghana, entre  Sogakopé et Lomé, qui bénéficieront d’un accès amélioré à l’eau potable, à l’issue d’un projet proposé par les gouvernements respectifs des deux pays. Et pour lequel ceux-ci ont reçu, le 20 décembre 2013, confirmation d’un don de 1,4 million d’euros de la Facilité africaine de l’eau (FAE). 

The African Water Facility (AWF) has approved a grant of EUR 1.28 million to finance feasibility studies for a multi-purpose dam on a tributary of River Lusushwana in Swaziland. The project will provide drinking water to urban areas, including Mbabane and Manzini, the two major cities of the country. The water stored by the dam will also be used for irrigation and hydro-power generation. The multipurpose dam project is a priority investment for the Swazi Government. The 300.000 inhabitants in the area will benefit from this investment.

The implementation of an Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) Masterplan will help Marondera city of Zimbabwe reach universal access to drinking water and sanitation by 2025. The design of Marondera’s IUWM masterplan is supported by a EUR 2 million grant from the African Water Facility (AWF) with a view to ensuring sustainable management of water and sanitation services for the region’s population.

“This drought is worse than the one which occurred in 1992!”  says Zwelakhe who leaves in Mbabane, the Capital City of Swaziland. “Now we are faced with water restrictions: we are only supplied every other day and we are still supposed to be in the rainy season!”. The Hawane Dam which supplies Mbabane is nearly empty. The Mbabane-Manzini urban corridor is the main pole of growth of the country, and concentrates a number of developments: the convention center, a new industrial zone, and several housing estates.

The African Water Facility (AWF) supports improvements in the provision of drinking water in Morocco with the approval of a EUR 815,100 grant. Close to 390,000 persons spread over 31 municipalities will benefit from this initiative, thanks to the El Borouj, Larache and Safi North West projects in the country’s northern region.

The African Water Facility and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are participating in World Water Week, in Stockholm (Sweden) from 29 August to 2 September. This year’s edition holds under the theme Water for Sustainable Growth. The World Water Week is the leading annual global event for tackling global water issues and development related challenges.