The Minister of Environment, Water and Sanitation, Roger Baro paid a working visit on September 08, 2023 to Koudougou in the Center-West region. He went to the Lallé canton chief, to the water treatment plant of the National Office for Water and Sanitation (ONEA) in Koudougou and had discussions with his collaborators from the structures decentralized from its department to the regional level.
Before starting his work, the Minister first went to the Chief of the canton of Lallé. He conveyed the recognition of the Transitional government to His Majesty and requested his support in the fight against terrorism. After having in turn thanked Minister Roger for all the actions carried out in the areas of the environment, water and sanitation in the territorial jurisdiction of his canton, His Majesty reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the ministry in the implementation of its projects and programs for the well-being of the populations.
After that, the minister headed to the Central-West Regional Environment Directorate to meet his colleagues at the decentralized level. He was accompanied by the Governor of the region, Boubakar Nouhoun Traoré and his Chief of Staff, Ousmane Bawar.
Through a meeting for informal discussions with agents of regional structures, Mr. Baro received the first managers of said structures who took turns to present the achievements and concerns linked to their mission.
According to the Regional Director of Water and Sanitation, Boukaré Sabo, we note the operationalization of the water police, the End of Open Defecation (FDAL) estimated at 40% of villages in the region, the rehabilitation of dams and new dams built. The supply of drinking water in the region in 2022 is estimated at 72.6%. In terms of difficulties, he listed the occupation of the banks of the Mouhoun River by gold miners, 800 boreholes are broken down and the operationalization of the provincial directorates of Water and Sanitation which is slow to see the light of day.
The Regional Director of the Environment, Fiédo Hakieko, for his part, mentioned the existence of 7 classified forests and the promotion of non-timber forest products. However, he deplores the absence of a public landfill in Koudougou for the treatment of solid waste and sewage sludge and water pollution due to the use of chemicals by gold miners along the Mouhoun River.
In terms of drinking water supply, the Regional Director of ONEA, Adama Sanou stressed that the ONEA Central West branch makes it possible to supply 6 towns in the region with drinking water. However, he cited a number of difficulties the structure faces. These include, among other things, difficulties in searching for groundwater, the proliferation of private drilling, resolving the land issue in the region and emergency logistics for the liberation of forests. Added to this is the strengthening of the capacities of agents, the need for an archiving facility, speed in assignments and the issuance of orders for the appointment of department heads.
Minister Baro congratulated the agents for the results achieved and invited them to stay the course and leave the routine by innovating, working with discipline and respect for public affairs.
Alongside this work, he handed over 14 boxes of human-powered pump maintainer tools for the benefit of Sanguié and Ziro maintainers. This gesture is part of the PRBA project which aims to strengthen the capacities of repair artisans trained for the maintenance of boreholes.
The last stop on the Minister’s tour was a visit to ONEA’s drinking water treatment plant. This allowed him to learn about the progress of the development work to increase the treatment capacity of the station as a prelude to increasing the pumping capacity at the Mouhoun.
It appears that the station’s main source of supply is the Mouhoun River. It records a production of drinking water of 450 m3/h or approximately 10,000 m3/day which is sent to two water towers. The water supply is supported by a 150 m3 water tower supplied by two boreholes and 5 mini AEPS.
The Minister congratulated the agents for achieving these results and invited them to maintain the quality service and plan for future projects.
In terms of prospects, the Regional Director of ONEA, Adama Sanou intends to increase the duration of drinking water production, which is currently 8 hours a day. There are also plans to increase the discharge capacity to be able to send the entire total storage capacity of the station for consumption and the construction of a new 100m3/h decanter.
Latribunedufaso.net
Source: DCRP/MEEA