Kasukuwere speaks on water, sanitation

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WATER, sanitation and sustainable energy are at the core of development in Zimbabwe and the government should explore new ways and avenues to tackle basic needs for resources, Environment, Water and Climate minister Saviour Kasukuwere has said.

WATER, sanitation and sustainable energy are at the core of development in Zimbabwe and the government should explore new ways and avenues to tackle basic needs for resources, Environment, Water and Climate minister Saviour Kasukuwere has said. MTHANDAZO NYONI OWN CORRESPONDENT

In a speech read on his behalf at the official opening of Mine-Entra at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) last Thursday, Kasukuwere said his ministry had prioritised water, sanitation and sustainable energy for economic development.

“Water is core to development issues in Zimbabwe. It is central to agriculture, rural, urban and industrial development. Water is a key input in the mining and energy sectors and it is fundamental for navigation, fisheries, national parks, natural ecosystems, recreation and assimilating waste from urban, industrial, mining and agricultural sources of pollution,” he said.

“No country has developed and will develop without access to reliable and affordable energy. Energy directly impacts on people, communities and countries in terms of economic growth, health, security, food and education.”

He added that achieving strategic objectives of poverty eradication and overcoming equalities, while at the same time boosting and sustaining economic growth and development was reliant upon healthy freshwater ecosystems, reliable water service provision and adequate sanitation services.

“As policy makers, planers or practitioners, we need to come up with innovative and pragmatic national policies that will lead to more efficient and cost effective provision of water and energy services,” he said.

Kasukuwere said his ministry had developed a water resources management strategy whose wider objective was to achieve sustainable, equitable and economically feasible development in Zimbabwe through the proper use of water resources while taking into account the shared international watercourse system.

Addressing water and sanitation challenges required improvements in the way the country managed the available national fresh water resources in rivers and dams. Agriculture and industry require investments and finance to improve productivity, he said.

More than 100 Bulawayo companies downsized, relocated or shut down due to critical water shortages.