Maputo, 27 Apr (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi argued on Thursday that access to water is an indicator of inclusion and social justice, especially in the current context of climate change.
He was speaking in the Zinhane Administrative Post, in Chigubo district, in the southern province of Gaza, at the inauguration of a water supply system, under the Water for Life Programme (PRAVIDA) and the National Water Supply and Rural Sanitation Programme (PRONASAR).
The system, budgeted at 30 million meticais (about 470,000 dollars at the current exchange rate), has the capacity to supply water to more than 3,000 inhabitants.
The project also has the support of about 500,000 thousand pounds sterling (623,000 dollars), disbursed by the British government.
“We have to save water. With climate change, water is becoming more and more scarce. You have to know how to handle the tap so that we don’t waste water, we must use it consciously”, Nyusi declared, stressing that the water supply system, in this locality, comes at a time when some areas of the country are struggling with cholera.
“There are operational costs, so we must save water, especially in the current scenario of climate change”, he added.
The President also warned about the prevention of water-borne diseases, arguing that conscious use of water can prevent the spread of cholera in Chigubo.
“We should know how to use water so that cholera does not reach Zinhane”, he said, warning that “vandalizing of infrastructure should be avoided for the sake of our populations.”
According to Nyusi, limited access to quality infrastructure reduces the capacity for socio-economic development, and “makes rural areas more vulnerable. This water system may not benefit a large number of people, but its absence may be a reason for people to migrate to other parts of the country, particularly to the cities.”
(AIM)
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