Ekiti State Commissioner for Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Prof Mobolaji Aluko, has stressed the need for an urgent scale up of activities and strategies that will fast track delivery of the desired results on the Sustainable Urban Rural Water Supply Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH) Programme across the State and the Nation.
The Commissioner made the call in Ado-Ekiti during the Implementation Support Mission and Pre-Mid-term Review Meeting of SURWASH assured teams from the World Bank, Federal Programme Implementation Unit (FPIU) and representatives from the other participating States of Imo and Delta.
He noted that Ekiti State Government is fully committed to successful implementation of SURWASH programmes which is designed to ensure that people of the State have improved access to potable water supply, as well as good sanitation and hygiene.
Aluko charged all the Implementing Agencies to synergize and work in collaboration with one another on the established strategies towards factoring ways, actions, and decisions to reach the targets beneficiaries by 2027 which is the completion year of the Programme
The Commissioner sought for the cooperation of the Communities and beneficiaries to take ownership after completion of the Programme across the LGAs of the State.
In another development, the World Bank team has visited the sites ongoing SURWASH Projects to ensure that the ongoing construction works were done according to programme specifications.
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The Task Team Led by Ms. Awa Diagne encouraged the Implementing Agencies to always carry out supervision and monitoring throughout the processes for effective service delivery and sustainability of the facilities.
Awa commended the State Government for its efforts in driving Water challenges and ensuring that people in the State have access to Sustainable Water Supply Sanitation and Hygiene.
She urged the implementing Agencies to put in place consolidated plans and proper strategies on how and what can be done differently to achieve results.
Part of the suggested plans from the team during the stakeholders forum of the Implementation Support Mission (ISM ) in order to achieve the expected results on SURWASH Programme include : to encourage the State to step up in terms of budgeting and capacity building for the Implementing Agencies; to ensure that their achievements are tagged on numbers of beneficiaries which is a proportional Link to disbursement, partnership, synergy and collaboration is highly required in order to fast track results on this Programme, consideration for the disability inclusiveness to access any facilities put in place, creation of awareness and sensitization is also very key to encourage the public from taking ownership and buying -in from the conception of the Program to completion stage to ensure good maintenance culture and sustainability of the facilities.