According to World Health Organization, 1.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water and further 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation services. And these numbers are expected to rise. The UN has estimated that 2.8 billion people in 48 countries will be living in conditions of water stress or scarcity by 2025.
Well, this long-running water shortage faced by rural dwellers in the country would soon be a thing of the past, as an estimated 50,000 rural dwellers are set to benefit from 20 solar-powered water supply systems.
James F. Gomez, minister of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters during his recent face-off with lawmakers at the National Assembly informed that the project came through the Department of Water Resources under his Ministry and secured from the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JIVA).
It is an undeniable fact that access to clean water driven by solar, is changing prospects in many remote parts of Africa.
The project, he noted, is in line with their quest to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, a goal of the National Development Plan 2018-2021.
Many rural dwellers suffered a great deal and most times in hot scorching sun to run errands in a bid to access potable drinking water. It’s like water scarcity has become part of daily struggle for most of the rural communities.
With this life-changing development, many rural dwellers would breathe new hope and even find it easier to draw water for both domestic and other uses.
We all know water is precious. And man needs water to support life on this planet. We therefore call on all genuine Gambians to embrace this initiative. Undoubtedly, water is one of the most important basic necessities in life.
"The system operates on power generated using solar PV (photovoltaic) system. The photovoltaic array converts the solar energy into electricity, which is used for running the motor pump set. the pumping system draws water from the open well, bore well, stream, pond, canal etc."