Minister seeks adequate funding to achieve SURWASH goals

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev has called for more investment to support the Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH) programme.

Speaking at the 3rd Federal Steering Committee Meeting held in Abuja yesterday, the Minister emphasized the critical role of the Committee in providing policy guidance and coordination for SURWASH, supported by a $700 million loan from the World Bank.

Highlighting the importance of the National Action Plan (NAP) for the Revitalization of Nigeria’s WASH Sector, Utsev regretfully informed the Committee about the logistical challenges that led to the postponement of the meeting initially scheduled for the end of 2023.

Despite achieving modest results in the second year of the program, particularly in Policies, Institutions, and Reforms (PIR), the Minister underscored the necessity for improved funding at the state level.

The six-year World Bank SURWASH programme, operating in Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, and Plateau states, aims to provide basic drinking water to six million people and grant improved sanitation services to 1.4 million individuals.

He urged participating states to proactively support the program financially, stressing that adequate funding is crucial for realizing the set activities outlined in the 2024 Programme Work Plan.

“ The SURWASH Programme has been designed by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation in partnership with the World Bank to support the implementation of the National WASH Action Plan (NAP) launched in November 2018.

“ Through SURWASH, the Federal Government would make infrastructure investments and drive reforms in the five National WASH Action Plan areas of governance, sustainability sanitation, funding & financing and monitoring & evaluation that serve asour Government’s overall strategy and vehicle for investment and sector reforms.

“ In the second year of the program, the implementing States achieved modest results in the preparation of the Policies, Institutions and Reforms(PIR) and implemented annual performance activities under thePerformance Improvement Action Plan (PIAPs) that will enable the sustainability of the 8 programmes. Disbursements have been made accordingly to the States for the achieved results.

“ My dear colleagues, we are now here for the 3rd FSC meeting to review and approve 2024 Programme Workplan for the smooth implementation of theSURWASH programme. However it is very important for the States to adequately support this Programme at State Level by providing adequate funding for their States to enable them take advantage of this opportunity considering it is a Programme-for-Results initiative.

“ This improved funding will enable us to achieve the activities set in thisWork plan and we should also consider scaling up our activities that will lead to improved disbursements by the end of the 2024 Programme year and hence the rating of the Programme. It is important to inform the committee that we are below the annual disbursements in the previous years, therefore there is a need for participating States to be proactive and committed to the program.” He said,

National Programme Coordinator, SURWASH, Mr Abdulhamid Gwaram, on his part, said the innovative approach through Program-for-Results (PforR), ensured that the focus was on results and impacting the lives of the people.

According to him, the major problem is the constant belief that programmes should be left to project offices alone, thereby reducing impact that would have been achieved.

Gwaram highlighted diverse areas of interventions for the year, as aligned with states’ budgetary allocations and priorities.