EDITORIAL: New water master plan must be fast tracked

The Ministry of Natural Resources has unveiled a plan that is expected to help ease the problem of water shortage in the country, especially during the dry season. Although Rwanda is endowed with natural water resources, they have not been harnessed to ensure enough and sustainable water supply throughout the year. For instance, Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) is yet to satisfy Kigali’s daily requirement of 110,000 cubic meters of water for its residents. However, with the National Water Resources Master Plan, which has already been approved by the Cabinet, the problem of water shortage should be dealt with decisively. According to the natural resources ministry, the master plan will make it possible to quantify the available water resources both on the surface and underground to guide development strategies. The development is good news for manufacturers and businesses which rely on large quantities of water every day for their operations. However, although the plan looks good on paper, it can only serve the purpose if it is fast tracked and implemented. Sometimes good plans only end up gathering dust on shelves, something the relevant authorities should not allow to happen in this particular case. The national water policy that was approved by the Cabinet in 2011 should also be fast tracked to ensure it promotes its goal of equitable provision of water resources for domestic, industrial and agricultural use. There is also need for training of the existing and new personnel in water sector to avoid the current capacity challenges, and to improve the performance of the sector. There should be no excuse of not having consistent water supply for every Rwandan household and industries.

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EDITORIAL: New water master plan must be fast tracked