The Secretary General in the Ministry of Lands, Environment, Forestry and Mines Emmanuel Nsanzumuganwa has attributed the increasing inefficiencies in water management system to lack of intensive technologies.

Opening a five-day regional seminar on gender and water management at Alpha Palace Hotel yesterday, Nsanzumuganwa, said that low capacity had led to soil erosion and misuse of water as a source of life.

He said that by having quick and easy access to water bodies, women would devote more time to income generating activities and children would attain education other than travelling long distances to fetch water.

"Women and children should be able to access water from very short distances and all this needs technology. This workshop is timely because it will help address these issues,” he said

Joke Muylwijk, the Executive Director of Gender and Water Alliance, said that big and small volumes of water have had big impact on the lives of poor people. She called for an effective engendering of water management initiatives.

The seminar was organised by Rwanda Environmental Conservation Organisation (Recor) and attended by participants from Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cameroon, and Senegal.

Ends