Governor Dr. Peter Mbah of Enugu State reassured residents that water rates would not increase. This follows the signing of a $100 million investment deal with Austrian investors. The agreement will improve water delivery to all homes in the state capital and surrounding areas.
During a recent town hall meeting, Mbah said, “We have raised water production from 2 million to 120 million litres a day in just 180 days.” He emphasized that this investment will “boost our efforts in addressing water challenges.”
He committed to replacing old asbestos pipes with ductile ones, saying, “We will relentlessly work on this issue to ensure better water access for all.”
“The only time you would have to appreciate the magnitude of challenges associated with those tertiary pipes is after you have allowed water to flow through them, some of them after decades. That was when we started noticing burst pipes. We also started noticing that some of the pipes were still asbestos pipes, and we needed to replace them.
“So, in terms of production, we have achieved 150% of our daily production needs. We are now dealing with the last mile, ensuring we get water to the last mile.
“Doing that, especially given the magnitude of what we have observed, is also cost-intensive. But we are now fortunate to have investors – not loans or grants – but investors who have undertaken to play in the downstream of our water management system.
“So, these investors will invest a hundred million dollars to ensure they replace all the pipes leading to the last mile. So, 1.5 million households have been targeted for a start. That work will start in earnest in January. And they would also ensure it is sustained because they will ensure it is metered. They will metre these homes as they do the tertiary pipelines,” he stated.
Mbah, however, assured that the government had factored in safety nets that would ensure that the water rate remained low by selling produced water to the investors at the cheapest rate possible.
No New Rate Hike
“For those who may be worried about what the cost will translate to with the coming in of these investors, you should not worry about that because that is why we are not outsourcing the production. We are still going to be fully in charge of production. The government will own the production lines and be fully responsible for producing water.
“We know that this is a social service and that it is not necessarily a money-making venture. So, the investors, of course, will have a return on investment, but the interesting thing is that we have built in all the safety nets to ensure that our people are not exploited.
“Because the cost at which they sell water to our people is going to be a function of what they buy from us and knowing that we want this to get to our people at minimal cost, we are also going to ensure that what they pay to get the water from us is reduced to the strictest minimum.
“So, for those of you yet to get public water, you can be sure that when we connect all these pipes and metres to your homes, what you may be paying will be barely 20 per cent of what you are currently spending to source for water.
“But most importantly, you are guaranteed clean water so that once you turn on your tap, water will flow,” he stated.
The governor also announced plans to establish the Enugu State Disabilities Commission in 2025.
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