By SALWACO Communications Unit
The Managing Director of the Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO) has disclosed that the Six (6) Towns Water Supply Project is fully funded by the Government of the Sierra Leone, under the stewardship of His Excellency the President, Rtd. Brg. Dr. Julius Maada Bio. Ing. George Lamin Vandi was speaking on Tuesday February 21st, 2023 at his Tower Hill Office during an exclusive interview with AYV Television.
The interview followed just after a conducted tour by the SALWACO Communications Unit in one of the project sites in Kailahun on Monday 20th February 2023. Ing. Vandi said that the Six (6) Towns Water Supply Project which is an initiative of the present Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone headed by President Bio is very laudable, adding that when President Bio took over the mantle of governance and leadership in Sierra Leone, he discovered that access to safe drinking water was at a level far below the required status (regional and international). He said that there was need for Sierra Leone to meet the SDG indicators, especially on the area of water and WASH facilities, citing that the Six (6) Towns Water Supply Project was therefore created to address some of such concerns. He said that the Six (6) Towns Water Supply Project is expected to serve a minimum of three hundred thousand (300,000) people across Sierra Leone.
The SALWACO MD further informed that the cost of the project is in the region of 58 million US Dollars. The Six Towns/Districts to benefit from the project include: Kailahun, Moyamba, Pujehun, Kambia, Kabala and Magburaka. The SALWACO MD added that works are ongoing in all of the six towns and that in the shortest possible time, water would be provided for people. With reference to Kailahun, the MD said that the team intends to do a 25kilometre distribution of pipe network, adding that such is expected to service at least a thousand customer and domestic connections. He said that the moment the project is completed, SALWACO will produce at least five thousand metre cubes of water per day. He said that such will be more than enough for the demand of the population. Ing. Vandi added that the project design horizon will be 2040 and beyond.
Chief Administrator at the Kailahun District Council, Mr. Jonathan Abass Combe said that the project means a lot to them as a Council more so and as he puts it ‘Kailahun is the fastest growing district/town for now.’ He said that one of the challenges of the township especially in the past was lack of access to safe drinking water. He said that with the coming of those pipes for Lot 4 of the project, the people are now hopeful that water will soon be provided for them at a minimal cost.
Mr. Combe said that with water and light, Kailahun is expected to continue to make progress. He noted however that it is necessary for the SALWACO team on the ground to work hand-in-hand with Council so that issues are better understood and are accordingly addressed. He said that involving the Council would be prudent and that same would be a step in the right direction.
Station Engineer/Engineer-in-Charge of the SALWACO station in Kailahun, Ing. Jimmy Swaggart Millar said that the materials on the ground were absolutely offered by the government of Sierra Leone. He said that Kailahun has 2 Lots of the project and that Lot 3 which is one of the projects deals with electromechanical aspects, noting that they’d mainly take care of the plants and do some construction.
Ing. Millar said that the current pipes on the ground in Kailahun which the Communications Unit inspected deal with Lot 4 of the project. He said that the company in charge will take care of the network and to broaden same since the township has largely expanded. He said that the team hopes to complete the project in about 2 months, stating that construction is already in progress.
Ing. Millar said that the completion of the project will be something good for the people of Kailahun. He therefore noted that the project has a lot of benefit for the people of Kailahun and beyond. He said that with almost all the materials available, the project is soon going to be completed.
Residents in Kailahun expressed optimism and delight regarding the project and hoped that the problem of water would now be a thing of the past in Kailahun.
