By NCHIMUNYA MIYOBA
Luapula Water and Sewerage Company (LpWSC) says the increment of allocation to the water sector in the 2019 budget will significantly improve service delivery to the water the sector.
LpWSC Managing Director Kenneth Chense said the increased allocation to the water supply and sanitation programmes from one per cent to three per cent will greatly improve service delivery.
Eng Chense was speaking during the Engineering colloquium organized by the Engineering Institute of Zambia (EIZ) under the theme ‘National budget on the engineering sector and national development’.
The event was held at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre to discuss the contents of the national budget and the impact.
He said the national budget allocation would supplement the K1.1 biliion revenues from the commercial utilities.
But still hinted that a total of K6biliion would be needed to cover the backlog.
“Government has invested over US$ 1.5bilion in the water sector through various projects being implemented across the country. Some of the notable projects being done include the Lusaka sanitation project, The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCA) focusing on Lusaka water supply and sanitation and drainage project.
Others are the Nkana Water and Sewerage Water supply and sanitation project phase 1 and 2 and the integrated small towns water supply and sanitation project supported by the African Development Bank,” he said.
And Eng Chense revealed that according to World Bank report of 2012, a total of US$10.6 million is spent each year on health care and US$ I million is lost each year due to productivity loses from sick people accessing health care.
Luapula Water and Sewerage Company MD Kenneth Chense presented a paper at the Engineering Institution of Zambia National Colloquium at the Mulungushi Conference Centre on the National Budget Provisions for Water and Sanitation in behalf of the Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation & Environmental Protection (MWDSEP).
