Africa-Press – Mauritius. A high-level consultative meeting regrouping representatives from the Central Water Authority (CWA) and major landowners/developers was held, this morning at the Caudan Arts Centre, Port Louis, at the initiative of the Economic Development Board (EDB), to discuss on the issue of water supply to existing and future developments.
The Chief Executive Officer of the EDB, Mr Ken Poonoosamy; the Chairman of the EDB, Mr Hemraj Ramnial; the General Manager of the CWA, Mr Prakash Maunthrooa; and other personalities were present on the occasion.
In his address, Mr Poonoosamy highlighted that this gathering marks a milestone and has as objective to look for solutions for the immediate, medium and long-term management of water resources.
“As the challenge of water security is growing, we need public-private partnerships for water supply to become more robust and resilient,” he pointed out.
The CEO indicated that water is at the heart of every development project that the EDB approves as it is critical to economic development, and is a key growth driver and a central pillar in the agenda for sustainable development.
He also underlined that water supply has remained high on their agenda with discussions held at the Fast Track Committee on private sector projects chaired by the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth.
“In view of its importance, we have called for this forum to bridge the water infrastructure gap so that we can rely on a collaborative approach to secure adequate water supply to power our economy forward,” he said. On this score, Mr Poonoosamy dwelt on some proposals for innovation in order to ensure an adequate and sustainable supply of water all around.
These include: the development of a water industry with players looking after engineering, operations, water and wastewater plant construction, equipment supply and specialist water treatment chemicals; promotion of the circular economy to recycle grey water for irrigation purpose; construction of retention ponds and serviced reservoirs; promoting rainwater harvesting; introduction of smart digital meters to residential, industrial and commercial premises to help consumers track and save water; and the development of a framework for desalination plants.
The EDB, the CEO stressed, wants to be active in promoting innovation to ensure that water management and investment by the private sector help in contributing to a sustainable and creative economy.
On this note, he encouraged the participants to give their recommendations and perspectives as regards the sustainable use of water during the session.
For his part, the Chairman of the EDB indicated that this session is the first one being organised by the EDB and its very purpose is to see how all stakeholders can collaborate and share ideas so as to foster innovation and collaboration for a more sustainable future in the water sector.
Water security, Mr Ramnial underscored, is a long-standing issue adding that a collective approach to develop new solutions to our water problems is needed.
“The purpose of today’s meeting is to see how we can ensure access to water for new development without jeopardising and making those who have access to clean water suffer,” he pointed out.
To achieve this goal, new and innovative ways to increase the resilience of the water resources must be found and water demand must be managed through the conservation of water by households and industries, the Chairman observed.
Furthermore, Mr Ramnial stressed that the EDB acts as a facilitator and also as a policy advocator as it wants the private sector to co-create solutions with the CWA.
“This meeting has been organised so that we can engage in the open exchange of knowledge and propose innovative solutions to manage our water resources in a sustainable manner as it is only by working together that we can ensure water security for all,” he said
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