The Mozambican Ministry of Public Works has raised about 170 million US dollars for the rehabilitation and expansion of water supply systems in urban areas, reports Monday's issue of the daily paper "Noticias".
A meeting of the ministry's Coordinating Council, that ended on Friday at the Pequenos Libombos tourist resort some 40 kilometres west of Maputo, heard that the proportion of urban dwellers covered by piped water supply systems rose from 30 per cent in 2000 to 36 per cent this year.
Public Works Minister Roberto White said that investments in this sector have improved the reliability of the systems, the quality of water, and the number of hours per day that water is distributed in several major cities, including Maputo, Inhambane, Tete, Nampula and Pemba.
The government had set 50 per cent as its coverage target, in terms of water supply to the urban areas. This could not be achieved, White claimed, because of the devastating floods of 2000. These severely affected some of the urban water systems, particularly in Maputo, Matola, Xai-Xai and Chokwe.
The meeting also heard that in the rural areas, the coverage rate for clean drinking water has increased from 36 to 40 per cent since 2000, catering for about six million people.
He said that the government's strategy is to involve the private sector and local communities in the management and maintenance of the water supply systems, both in urban and rural areas, as a means of ensuring their sustainability.
The meeting also discussed the area of roads, where it was found that only 51 per cent of the target for regular maintenance was fulfilled - a failure blamed on the late launch of the programme.
In terms of housing, the government concentrated most of its efforts in resettling the victims of the floods. The meeting found that this work is almost completed, and attentions are to be turned to the improvement of social and economic infrastructures.
Speaking of future plans, up to 2009, White said that his ministry is to continue working on improving links between the north and south of the country, paying particular attention to major bridges, over the Zambezi, Lugela, and Limpopo rivers.
Fonte: AIM
