TheCable

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has provided water for some communities in Edo state.

The commission, which said it was on a mission to make a difference, lamented the effect of the absence of potable water.

Ibim Semenitari, NDDC’s acting managing director, said her administration has embarked upon a solar-powered water partnership designed to ensure that people of the region enjoy the right to water.

“The model entails a partnership with youth leaders, who are engaged in various aspects of the projects’ head works and a solar power technology company, Akogate Ventures Limited,” she said.

“This project will not only provide access to good water but will also create jobs and boost health, to the acclaim of youth leaders, who have been reformed and now constitute the vanguard of attitudinal change among youths of the region.”

According to  Semenitari, the job creation potential of the project is underscored by the 2016 edition of the World Water Development Report.

According to her, the report revealed that three out of four jobs that make up the global workforce are either heavily or moderately dependent on water.

Paul Asemota, a youth leader from Edo, thanked the NDDC for the project, commending Semenitari for intorducing innovative concepts to the organisation.

“I want to commend Mrs Ibim Semenitari for a laudable job- for the partnership with Akogate. Before now, the youths were just being given stipends when they came to NDDC. But with this new administration, with the cooperation between Akogate and NDDC, the solar water scheme has helped to develop and open up the communities,” he said.

“Ccommunities now have water without having to go as far as four kilometers to fetch water. With this scheme, the youths are engaged in clearing, mason jobs, welding and fabrication; while the women sell food to the contractors.”

Elaborating on the impact of the NDDC solar-powered water scheme, Felix Aganbi, chairman of Akogate Ventures Limited,  said: “In each site, we employ masons, people of the community come and sell food, the electricians are there and the youths that are empowered are equally taking care of others.

“Another derivable of this scheme is that the communities where the projects are sited do not only feel the impact of the empowerment, but they also see that provision of good drinking water has taken care of the health hazards of water-borne diseases.”