The national water sector reform project through the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources and its line department has handed over water quality monitoring equipment and reagents to the water quality division of the department of water resources laboratory of the department of livestock services at Abuko.
It would be recalled that the 2.0 million AWF/GOTG financed national water sector reform project NWSRP and part of the proceeds was earmarked for the procurement of water quality monitoring equipment and reagents as a means to strengthen the water resources knowledge and information system being one of the major areas under the ongoing national water sector reforms.
Given that the project has successfully procured and taken delivery of modern water quality monitoring equipment and reagents in various quantities and models, the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources, being the executing agency of the project, deemed it fit to officially make the handing over of the said supplies, which were valued at one million dalasi to the water quality division of the department of waster resources.
Fisheries and Water Resources minister Mass AXI Gai, in his handing over speech, said the national water sector reform project financed with two million Euros by the African Water Facility of the African Development Bank and the Government of The Gambia, was pivotal to the achievement of sustainable national development objectives, as encapsulated in the national Vision 2020 and the Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE).
He said he is cognizant of the fact that water was a finite resource necessary for any meaningful sustainable development but challenged by several factors such as increasing demand due to population growth, climate change variability and environmental pollution.
The government through his ministry initiated the national water sector reforms currently being implemented by the national water sector reform project.
“The objective is to support the implementation of integrated water resources management in The Gambia in line with the national water policy and the IERM roadmap, so as to achieve improved governance of our water resources through enhanced capacity and the enabling legal and institutional framework,” he said.
He commended the project manager and his team for the successful procurement leading to the landmark event.
The equipment and reagents are necessary for ensuring that good quality water was available for both human and animal populations, as well as for crop cultivation, he said.
The entire population of the country stands to benefits tremendously from this laboratory, which from now on is expected to conduct smarter tests and analyses of water samples, he added.
He encourages all beneficiaries to maximally utilize the lab, while calling on the department of water resources, through its water quality division, to take good care of the equipment and reagents.
