The Administração Regional das Águas do Sul (ARA-Sul) has guaranteed that there is enough water available to supply the whole of Maputo province for a period of three years and stressed that the levels of the Pequenos Libombos reservoir have stabilised, given the rain that fell last week.
“The Pequenos Libombos dam has a capacity of 400 million cubic metres. At the moment, it has 95 per cent of its water storage level, which will allow it to supply irrigation and human consumption for the next three years,” said the head of ARA-Sul’s Water Resources Department, Lizete Dias.
She emphasised that the resource will be well managed, given that the southern region of the country is already suffering from the effects of El Niño, which is causing droughts and having a negative impact on the development of communities.
Last October, the World Bank (WB), through the International Development Association (IDA), made 150 million dollars available for the implementation of the “Urban Water Security Programme”, with the aim of improving water supply systems in the southern region of Mozambique.
According to information published at the time by the ReliefWeb humanitarian portal, the initiative aims to benefit 1.3 million people, help create an environment conducive to private sector participation in the country’s water supply programmes, encourage the provision of sustainable and climate-resilient services and promote better and more efficient water services.
“Access to drinking water is a basic human right and essential for resilient and inclusive development. Through this initiative, we aim to support the government’s vision of ensuring that all people benefit from a high-quality water supply service,” noted the World Bank’s Country Director for Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros and Seychelles, Idah Z. Pswarayi-Riddihough.
