Lake Victoria water board in initiative to boost services

Lake Victoria Water Services Board has launched a scheme to strengthen the sale of water in rural and peri-urban areas. The board acting chief executive officer Moses Agemba said the initiative dubbed Market Assistance Programme aims at enhancing water services delivery in the region.

He said the programme will among other things address the commercialisation of water services especially in rural areas to improve the residents' living standards. The board has embarked on the initiative in a bid to address the challenges especially in the management of rural water projects by partnering with private institutions.

Agumba said the board has embarked on the expansion of water service to those living in the rural areas which have been ignored in terms of piped supplies. He said among the interventions to be taken in the rural water expansion programme include conservation of water catchment areas and building of water points for the communities.

The board intends to share the conceptual framework of the "Making Markets Work for the Poor" and the MAP approach and to share findings of the commercial viability analysis report of the targeted 15 rural Water Services Providers. The board has invited senior officials from the Water ministry, Water Services Regulatory Board, NGOs, district water officers and leaders from the various the rural water service providers for meeting on the programme. The board in partnership with SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the UK-based Adam Smith International will implement the three-year programme.