Africa-Press – Cape verde. Opposition parties blame the Government for failures in the supply of drinking water, particularly in the cities of Praia and Mindelo. The MpD counters this with investments already made. Positions expressed on Monday night, during the “Plenary” program on Rádio Morabeza.
Nilton Silva, from PAICV, said, during the debate , that there is a setback in the sector and defends a fourth health plan for São Vicente.
“It seems that in the city of Praia and in other municipalities in the country we have, lately, regressed a lot. Even São Vicente is starting to show signs. How is it possible that in order to carry out maintenance on the equipment, the entire water supply in São Vicente was interrupted last week? Is it not possible to carry out maintenance in a phased, scheduled manner? With the accelerated urban growth in São Vicente, we cannot continue with this policy of investing in tubes and tubes. With the urban expansion we have at the moment, we need a fourth health plan for São Vicente”, he argues.
The UCID follows the same line. António Monteiro understands that the lack of investment and maintenance of existing infrastructure prevents water from being made available with the necessary frequency, quality and quantity.
“Today, with reverse osmosis technology, one cubic meter of water can be produced with approximately 2.5 to 3 kWh. If we are to see a reduction in terms of specific energy consumption for this precious liquid, we question why the water load is that it is not possible to guarantee the desired quantity and quality of water for the populations on the islands. This only has one name, it is negligence on the part of those who govern the country”, he understands.
The MpD denies the Government’s setbacks and incapacity. José Carlos da Luz justifies his position with the construction of more than four thousand kilometers of network and more than 36 thousand new home connections, between 2016 and 2022, in an investment of 2.6 million contos.
“This investment contributes to increasing the connection rate to networks, going from 64.1% in 2015 to 73.8% in 2022. This shows that there was a 10% growth”, he says.
“Regarding desalinated water, a desalination plant with a capacity of 10 thousand cubic meters was installed in Sal, 10 thousand cubic meters in São Vicente, 770 cubic meters in Maio, 5 cubic meters in Praia, 1,200 cubic meters in Santa Catarina, 200 cubic meters in the north of Boa Vista. A 500 cubic meter unit was also recovered in Santa Cruz. Brava will have a daily 500 cubic meters of 100% solar energy. This shows that the work is being done. Now, we cannot expect results all at once,” he points out.
José Carlos da Luz recalls that the Government’s goal is to reach 90 liters of water per person and per day, in addition to diversifying the forms of mobilization through desalination and using renewable energy.
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