Maputo, 14 Sep (AIM) – About 57 per cent of the Mozambican population now has access to safe drinking water, compared to just five per cent in 1975, when the country became independent from Portuguese colonial rule.
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi announced this figure on Wednesday, during the inauguration of a water supply system at the Malehice administrative post, Chibuto district, in the southern province of Gaza.
“Efforts to ensure that Mozambicans have access to drinking water began soon after our independence. At the time, 95 per cent of the Mozambican population did not have access to safe drinking water but today, because of the efforts made, the percentage of those who don’t have access to safe water throughout the country is 43 per cent”, said the President, adding that he intends to bring drinking water to the entire country.
According to Nyusi, the government has made a great effort to bring water to rural areas, where the population with access to safe water has risen from 38.9 per cent in 2015 to 57 per cent today.
Regarding the water supply system inaugurated in Malehice, which will benefit 10,000 people, Nyusi urged the rational use of water and the conservation of the infrastructure.
“This water supply system has benefited from an intervention that involves rehabilitating and expanding all the components, increasing the water collection capacity from 15 cubic metres to 40 cubic metres, treatment, transport and storage of up to 250,000 cubic metres”, he said.
Nyusi added that in Chibuto district, the water coverage rate stands at 76 per cent, benefiting around 144,000 people. In all of Gaza province, the figure stands at 67 per cent, with 970,000 beneficiaries. The construction of a further 74 new sources in the province is envisaged.
“Our challenge in this province is to guarantee the supply of the remaining 33 per cent of the population”, he said. “We must build 74 new sources and intervene in 18 water supply systems, 13 of which will be completed this year. With the conclusion of this water supply infrastructure, it is expected that around 60,000 new users will benefit from safe drinking water in this province”, he said.
The inauguration of the water system is part of the implementation of the government’s Five-Year Programme to provide Mozambicans with safe water, in line with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda.
The new system will make it possible to extend the water supply period in Malehice from five to 16 hours a day.
“With this water supply system, residents will not only have access to quality water, but will also have more time to devote to other useful activities in their lives”, Nyusi concluded.
(AIM)
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