Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene Nov-Dec 2017 | Page 7

NEWS in brief
Rwanda
New Water Facilities to Benefit Over 2,000 Bugesera
Residents
Around Africa
Mary Katushabe, the chairperson of Recor, said that
after handing over the facilities to the residents, the next
step will be to sensitise people on proper management to
ensure sustainability.
Priscilla Uwiragiye, the Bugesera vice-mayor in charge of
social affairs, said the district is proud of hosting projects
that impact lives of residents.
Seychelles
New Dams, Exploitation of Groundwater to Increase
Potable Water in Seychelles
The construction of new dams and increased exploitation
of groundwater are priority projects to sustain potable
water in the Seychelles.
Rwanda Takayuki Miyashita, the Japanese Ambassador to Rwanda
together with Priscilla Uwiragiye, the Bugesera District vice-mayor in charge
of social affairs fetching water from a new water tank. (Photos by Frederic
Byumvuhore)
A total of 30 bamboo water tanks and two water kiosks
constructed to ease access to clean and safe water for
residents in Bugesera District has been launched.
The US $74,150 (about Rwf62 million) facilities were
inaugurated by Takayuki Miyashita, the Japanese
ambassador to Rwanda has said.
The Public Utilities Corporation said they are exploring
the possibilities of constructing new dams in addition to
the island nation’s two existing ones.
Speaking to SNA recently, Chief Executive Philippe Morin
also said that three sites on Mahe - the main island - and
one on La Digue - the third most populated island - have
been identified as having the potential for the extraction
of groundwater.
The facilities were funded by the Embassy of Japan and
implemented by Rwanda Environmental Conservation
Organization (RECOR) under the project for improvement
of access to clean water in the district.
A total of 2, 000 residents from four villages of Musenyi
Sector are expected to benefit from the facilities.
Bugesera District is one of the areas with scarcity of water.
Residents sometimes resort to fetching water from unsafe
sources.
While inaugurating and handing over the facilities to the
District in Musenyi sector, Amb. Miyashita thanked the
implementers for constructing the facilities successfully.
“I am happy to work with responsible implementers in
changing the lives of people. Water shortage is problem in
Bugesera, that’s why we decided to support the district. If
the residents are happy, we are also happy,” Miyashita said.
The envoy expects that the facilities will lead to women
participation and increase income-generating activities as
well as allow children to have time to go to school instead
of trekking distances to fetch water.
The envoy also assured of continuous support in the
country to make it more comfortable for the people.
The first dam will be constructed at Grand Anse, a district
in the west of Mahe. The site - as a potential location for
a dam - has been under discussion for a number of years.
“We are doing a feasibility study and more importantly we
want a design for the site. We have done studies in the past.
But with this new one, we want a design which will give us
much more details.”
“A design, which will come after much investigation, will
finally tell us what will be the shape of the dam. What will
be its estimated capacity and how much it will cost to build
it?” said Morin.
“PUC is estimating that the dam will be an arch shape
made of concrete. We estimate it will be around 40 metres
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