The Katsina State Government and UNICEF have expended N3billion to provide clean and safe water to 3,500 communities in 34 local government areas of the state, an official has said.
Alhaji Aminu Dayyabu, the Executive Director of the state Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) told journalists on Monday in Katsina that the amount was expended over the past four years by the two organisations.
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He said that Katsina State Government contributed N1.5billion as its counterpart funding while UNICEF also contributed N1.5billion to provide water to the last communities in the 34 local government councils.
“The borehole hand pumps were provided in rural communities and not in urban or semi-urban towns across the state,” the director said.
He said that Katsina State Government and UNICEF also intervened in 400 primary schools and some health centres by providing boreholes and toilets to improve the health situations of the communities. Dayyabu said.
Dayyabu further disclosed that RUWASSA had established community mobilisation committees that would educate the rural populace that the boreholes belong to them.
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He said that the communities would be encouraged to take good care of the boreholes and avoid its misuse and break down.
“The local bicycles mechanic or grinding machine owner will be taught how to repair the boreholes so as not to depend so much on government for its maintenance.
“The State Government is aware that there are several broken down boreholes provided by National Assembly, State Assembly, Local Government chairmen and philanthropists in the communities,” he said
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The director said that the involvement of the communities in maintenance of the boreholes was to avoid their mishandling and subsequent breakdown and abandonment.
“Several boreholes were sunk across the state without the consent and knowledge of RUWASSA and they were misused by the communities and the Agency does not want a repeat of that situation,’’ Dayyabu
