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Government to privatise water board agencies

By Joke Falaju, Abuja
26 February 2018   |   2:23 am
The Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu, has said that water board agencies will be privatised after the Water Use Bill is passed into law to ensure effective water supply in the country

Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu, has said that water board agencies will be privatised after the Water Use Bill is passed into law to ensure effective water supply in the country

The minister, during a live Tweeter chat at the weekend, said the bill, which is currently at the Senate, would help to strengthen the involvement of the private sector in the provision of water supply and sanitation in the country.

Adamu, who stated that the bill had been passed by the House of Representatives and a public hearing held at the Senate, said that the bill was being harmonised to be presented at the floor of the Senate for passage with the hope that it would be passed into law before the end of next month.

He pointed out that the bill would help to put in place a regulator that would enable the private sector participate in the provision of water supply, which would make water supply more efficient and take away the operations of water board from public structure.

The minister, who lamented that most water boards are incapacitated as they are being run by government subventions and are unable to do cost recovery, further disclosed that there is also a provision in the bill that allows for the establishment of catchment water management committees that would allow better participation in the management of water resources at the state and local council levels so as to address problems like deforestation.

He stated that the bill would also facilitate farmers’ participation in irrigation system to allow better management and sustainability of irrigation schemes, which would help recover cost of water used for irrigation by farmers.

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