Water Scarcity Hits Bauchi As Only 40 Per Cent Has Access To Water Supply In Bauchi – RUWASA

Logpobiri Anaiya

Bauchi State Rural Water and Sanitation Agency has expressed concern that only about forty percent of the state’s population has access to safe drinking water.

The General Manager of the Agency Engr. Garba Babaji Magaji who disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in his office, said over three million people across the state have no access to safe water.

Engr. Babaji said the Agency with the support of the state government and other donor agencies have embarked on new measures to provide over 1.5 million people with water in the 2016 fiscal year.

He commended Governor Muhammad Abubakar for his effort on the provision of safe water and effective hygiene and sanitation through the timely release of counterpart fund to all partner organizations.

According to him, Japan International Cooperation Agency had supported 114 communities in the state in the area of water and sanitation to improve their wellbeing.

The General Manager said few months after he assumed office, Governor Abubakar supported the provision of 300 hand pump boreholes in Shira and Toro local government areas, which he said, encouraged donor organizations.

On the Agency’s twenty sixteen plan of action, Engr. Garba Babaji said plans are underway to rehabilitate dysfunctional machineries of the Agency as well as providing water and sanitation facilities to individuals and communities for commercial purposes.

Turning to the provision of toilets in towns and villages, the General Manager disclosed that the State Government and UNICEF will officially declare Dass local government free of open defecation on the 23rd of next month, which will make it the first local government in the country to enjoy such privilege.

He called on the beneficiaries of their services to put hands on deck by taking ownership of all facilities provided by the agency in their respective areas in order to improve their livelihood.