The Secretary General of the Guinean Ministry of Hydraulics and Sanitation, Mamadou Djouldé Diallo, said Tuesday in Conakry that the rate of access to drinking water in urban areas is 31 percent.
By Sadjo Diallo
“To date, the average overall access rate of urban populations to drinking water through the distribution networks of Guinea’s Water Company (SEG) is about 31 percent,” Mr. Diallo said.
He was speaking to the press on the sidelines of a workshop to present a study report of the Greater Conakry drinking water supply master plan.
According to him, this rate is far from the 75.6 percent target set for the urban water sub-sector under the National Programme for Economic and Social Development (PNDES) 2016-2020.
“The obsolescence of equipment, the lack of electricity, the high level of urbanization leading to population growth and the low production capacity do not allow for a proper supply of drinking water to consumers,” Diallo explained.
He indicated that in response to this situation, there is an increased proliferation of private drilling carried out both in Conakry and in inland cities to meet domestic drinking water needs.
According to a study, at the end of 2019, the population’s need for drinking water in Greater Conakry was around 370,000 cubic metres per day.
This was for a population fluctuating around 2,600,000, while the available production capacity was only 150,000 cubic metres per day, resulting in a deficit of around 220,000 cubic metres per day.
SD/te/lb/as/APA