Africa-Press – Angola. The Executive plans, through the National Sanitation Program, to achieve, by 2030, universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, through a partnership between the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment, UNICEF and other organizations.
The intention is expressed in the communiqué of the ordinary meeting of the National Water Council (CNA), which took place yesterday, in Luanda, guided by the Vice-President of the Republic, Bornito de Sousa, as president of the body.
CNA members were presented with the characterization of basic sanitation led by local communities and schools, an initiative to reduce the impact of open defecation, with a negative impact on water quality and waterborne diseases.
The Council considered it necessary that the Sanitation Program in rural areas be integrated into the next Development Plan, as a contribution to the objectives of promoting its access to the population.
Detailed information was provided on the Program to Combat the Effects of Drought in the South of the country, especially in the province of Cunene, where, recently, the first major structural work was inaugurated (Canal Cafu) and a third project will be launched, at the right bank of the river, to benefit the populations of the localities of Curoca, Otchinjau, Chitato and Cahama.
The structural projects within the scope of the Program to Combat Drought and Drought to be built in the provinces of Huíla and Namibe were also made known to the members of the CNA, in addition to information on the need to preserve the sources of the Cunene, Kwanza, Catumbela, in the center of the country.
Desalination Along The Coast
The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment, Filipe Zau, admitted yesterday, in Luanda, the beginning of the process of desalination of sea water along the coast, for the promotion of tourist activities, mainly in the regions bathed by the Atlantic.
Speaking to the press, at the end of the meeting, he said that the first experiment was carried out, on Mussulo Island (Luanda), and showed that it is easy to transform salt water into drinking, sweet and safe water, through units without any type of negative impact. for the environment.
He stressed that the initiative is an innovation undertaken by the Government and some educational institutions, such as the Agostinho Neto and Católica universities. Still in this perspective of promoting tourism, Filipe Zau spoke of the idea of transforming plastic into fuel, with a view to obtaining clean energy.
The minister expressed his concern about the vandalization of the sources of the main rivers in the country (Cu-nene, Kwanza, Catumbela), stressing that they must be places of conservation: “What is happening near some sources is vandalism, because they were issued licenses to some mining companies, which remove land in an anarchic way to promote gold mining”.
He highlighted that this situation occurs more frequently at the mouth of the Cunene River, where the Yona Park is located. He also denounced defecation practices near the sources of rivers, behavior that infects the waters and influences the water tables for the emergence of various diseases.
Water Shortage In Luanda
For his part, the Minister of Energy and Water said that Luanda had a deficit in the supply of 500,000 cubic meters of water, stressing the need to conclude the Bita and Quilonga projects.
João Baptista Borges assured, by the way, that the Bita Water Treatment Station already has funding from the World Bank, while the Quilonga project is being structured. Once completed, he added, the two projects will allow adding 500,000 cubic meters of water to the country’s capital.
He pointed to mining and damage to public networks as the main factors contributing to the water supply deficit in Luanda.
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