Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) yesterday concluded a six-day on-spot assessment of the Lake Victoria Water Supply and Sanitation Programme Phase II (LVWATSAN II) with a call on relevant agencies to increase the pace of its implementation on the ground.
The Chairperson of EALA’s Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources, Hon. Safina Kwekwe Tsungu, is confident that if fully implemented, LVWATSAN II will greatly improve the livelihoods of the people in the 15 targeted towns in the Lake Victoria Basin.
“The fact that people do not know the cause of the delays in the Programme is a major concern. Most of the misunderstandings on the ground point to an interruption in the flow of information,” said Hon. Tsungu, during a debriefing session held in Kisumu, Kenya, on 23rd February 2012. “This programme is one of the ways through which communities in the Partner States shall fully appreciate the importance of the East African Community to the region. It is up us to make sure that the Programme succeeds”, the Chairperson remarked.
During the visit, the EALA Members met with key officials including the Executive Secretary of Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) Dr. Canisius Kanangire and the Mayor of Kisumu – the seat of the Commission – His Worship Sam Okello. Other officials included Mayors and technical staff in the towns of Kericho, Keroka and Isebania in Republic of Kenya; as well as Mayuge in the Republic of Uganda. Facilities visited included water intakes, existing water works, water storage facilities and waste disposal sites that will be improved or replaced by the Programme.
The officials in all the towns visited expressed concern about delays in the commencement of programme implementation on the ground and urged EALA Members to support efforts to fasten the process.
On their part, the EALA Members thanked LVBC for its contribution to the implementation process of the Programme. They however recognised the disparities in the amount of information available about project progress at all levels and the high community expectations as some of the challenges that need immediate attention. Members also noted the need to inform stakeholders that despite the importance of the water supply components, all the components of LVWATSAN II – Water Supply; Hygiene and Environmental Sanitation; Urban Drainage Improvement; Capacity Building; and Programme Management – would need to be given the same attention during implementation.
The Committee will take stock of the observations and recommendations to report back to EALA.
During the debriefing held in Kisumu, the LVBC Deputy Executive Secretary for Projects and Programmes, Mr. Samuel Gichere, thanked the EALA Committee Members for the feedback provided from the field and promised that LVBC will utilise the information to support the faster implementation of the Programme.
The on-spot assessment, which commenced on 19th February 2012, was carried to give Members of the Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources a clear understanding of the Programme’s progress and challenges in order to support its smooth and sustainable implementation.
This is the second visit by the Legislators to the Lake Victoria Basin region. It follows the first visit which took place in 2009 to assess the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II (LVEMP II), an EAC project currently under implementation in the five Partner States. It is during that visit that a decision was taken to assess LVWATSAN II at an appropriate time.
LVWATSAN II follows the implementation of the first phase, which focused on 10 towns within the original EAC Partner States of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, with the support of UN-HABITAT. The 10 secondary towns included: Kisii, Homa Bay and Bondo in Kenya, Nyendo/Ssenyange, Bugembe and Kyotera in Uganda, as well as Bukoba, Bunda and Muleba in Tanzania, and the border town of Mutukula.
With the Republics of Burundi and Rwanda joining of the EAC, the second phase was expanded to cover 15 towns – three from each of the five Partner States. The activities of the Phase II Program are being undertaken in the following focal towns in the Partner States: Burundi: Ngozi, Muyinga and Kayanza; Kenya: Keroka, Kericho and Isebania; Rwanda: Kayonza, Nyagatare and Nyanza; Tanzania: Geita, Sengerema and Nansio and; in Uganda: Mayuge, Buwama-Kayabwe-Bukakata and Ntungamo. The investment plan preparation for the 15 secondary towns was supported by the African Water Facility (AWF) of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), which culminated in the support for the physical implementation of the LVWATSAN II programme. The Programme is expected to run up to 2015 and it is envisaged to be expanded to other towns in the basin in subsequent phases.
ENDS
For More Information, contact: Bobi Odiko, Senior Public Relations Officer; East African Legislative Assembly; Tel: +255-27-2508240 Cell: +255 787 870945, +254-733-718036; Email: bodiko@eachq.org Web: https://www.eala.org Arusha, Tanzania
Charles-Martin Jjuuko, Communications and Development Awareness Officer, Lake Victoria Basin Commission Secretariat; Tel: +254 57 2023873; Cell: +254 726 760127; Email: jjuuko@lvbcsec.org or visit the LVBC website: https://www.lvbcom.org
