Uba Sani To Invest N93bn In Water Sector

Kaduna State Government plans to spend N93 billion in four years, for the rehabilitation of the water sector in four tranches, in order to wholistically address the neglect of the past 10 years.

The Commissioner of Public Works and Infrastructure, Arc Ibrahim Hamza who made this known at a press briefing on Tuesday, disclosed that Governor Uba Sani has directed the payment of all outstanding salaries and wages to staff of Kaduna State Water Corporation(KADSWAC), amounting to N800 million.

Arc Hamza further disclosed that staff of KADSWAC will be put back on the state’s payroll, up till 2027 when the corporation must have fully stabilised to run as a commercial entity.

The commissioner recalled that the Governor had earlier declared a state of emergency in the water sector three months ago, which resulted in the appointment of Engr Kabir Rufai as substantive Managing Director of KADSWAC.

‘’The corporation will collaborate with local governments to maintain generators operations. It will strengthen existing water laws to support corporate employment policy,’’ he said.

According to him, Kaduna State is investing heavily on the rehabilitation and retrofitting of all water treatment plants and distribution mains, with emphasis on sanitation and hygiene.

Arch Hamza pointed out that the N93 billion will be invested in four instalments, starting with N17 billion this year, adding that N35 billion will be invested next year, while N30 billion will be invested in 2026 and N11 billion will be invested in 2027.

The Commissioner of Works further disclosed that ‘’previous administrations invested $50 million into the urban water supply scheme in the last 10 years with no result.’’

‘’Rather, capacity utilisation dropped down from 43% in 2017 to 8% in 2023 with 5% coverage,’’ he added.

According to Arc Hamza, the refund of N17.2 billion was not duly utilised by the previous administration and institutional reforms culminated in redundancy and laying off of skilled staff.

He said that Kaduna State Government has approved the ‘’recovery of the counter fund for the Zaria 150MLD water project based on the National and State Water policy in the tune of N5.74 billion,’’ adding that the sale of KADSWAC quarters and facilities has been halted.