Experts in water and sanitation matters on Friday met in Entebbe, Uganda to review reports and work plans aimed at increasing sanitation in the partner states of the East African Community (EAC). The meeting, dubbed, the 4th Joint Regional Policy Steering Committee (RPSC) was organized by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), which has several projects running across EAC states. LVBC is a specialized institution of the EAC that is responsible for coordinating the sustainable development agenda of Lake Victoria Basin. James Sano, the Chief Executive Officer of the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC), the implementing agency of LVBC programs in Rwanda, said that 30 public toilets had been constructed in the towns of Nyagatare, Kayonza and Nyanza under the Lake Victoria Water Supply and Sanitation Program (LVWATSAN). “Nyagatare, Kayonza and Nyanza are part of the 15 towns where this program is running. In Rwanda, we have successfully completed our short term intervention targets,” he said. Lake Victoria is a major-transboundary resource for EAC countries with a high potential to accelerate the growth of the towns around it if well managed and the potential sustainably harnessed Hamza Sadiki, the Director for Water Resources in Tanzania’s Ministry of Water, urged delegates to review the reports, work plans and continue engaging in constructive debates that will ultimately inform policy guidance to the implementation of LVBC programs and projects. The Entebbe meeting follows previous others such as the extra-ordinary RPSC held in December 2014 in Kenya and the Sectoral Council of Ministers for LVB held in March 2015 in Bujumbura, Burundi. Citing achieved milestones since the last two meetings, the Deputy Executive Secretary for Programs and Projects, Telly Eugene Muramira, informed participants that said “there are lots of improvements in most of the areas.” Muramira observed that although Burundi has witnessed difficulties, implementation of Short Term Interventions (STIs) for the LVWATSAN program is steadily ‘picking pace’ and there are tangible outputs on the ground Officials observed that the level of implementation differs from country to country due to capacity gaps and cumbersome procurement procedures. Lake Victoria Basin covers an area of 250,000 km2 with the lake taking 68,000 km2. The basin has a population of 35 - 40 million people, with rapidly growing secondary towns, which has resulted in unplanned, sponteneous and unsustainable growth.
