Kaolack, June 11 (APS) – Access to drinking water constitutes “a priority for the government” which is working to ensure that this problem is resolved in the Kaolack region and in other localities of the country, said declared, Tuesday, the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, Cheikh Tidiane Dièye,
”Access to drinking water, which constitutes a significant challenge for Kaolack as for many other localities in the country, is a priority for the government of Senegal. All regions of Senegal face significant challenges in terms of access to drinking water,” he said.
Mr. Dièye said this on Tuesday during a workshop to share the results of detailed mapping of shared risks in Kaolack (center), a pilot area of the Integrated Flood Management Program in Senegal (PGIIS).
”The problem of access to water has been there for a very long time and this is also the reason why, in the PROJECT led by President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, you saw all the ambition that was placed in the control of water, not only drinking water but even beyond that, water for irrigation,” he argued.
According to the minister, ”if we want to achieve a sovereign Senegal by guaranteeing food sovereignty, we must cultivate outside the rainy seasons. And for that, you have to control water.
”Kaolack remains a problem that we have always known about the quality of its water. And this is why our ambition, after evaluation, is to finalize and refine our solutions and to carry out large-scale projects in Kaolack, both for sanitation and for access to drinking water. ‘, he promised.
He noted that his services have already identified solutions that will be structural and sustainable, including possibilities for water transfer.
”In Kaolack, the water is not very suitable, but there are areas not far away where there is pure water and in large quantities, which could be subject to exploitation and transfer to Kaolack”, assured the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation.
He gave the example of “a similar experience” between the town of Mbacké and a well field located in the neighboring commune of Sadio, where drilling was carried out with better water quality than that of Mbacké.
”This water was drained to supply Mbacké. For Kaolack, we also have initiatives of this nature. My teams are working hard to provide solutions in a very short time,” reassured Cheikh Tidiane Dièye.
”Since we have just arrived and we know the problem, we do not want to commit, but the solutions are being refined. In a very short time, the question of drinking water will be resolved in Kaolack and Fatick and in other towns in Senegal which are experiencing this type of difficulty,” he said.
ADE/OID/ASG
