By CHILA NAMAIKO –
THE German government has since 2010 committed 138 million Euros in grants to the water sector for various projects in Zambia, a Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Water Development and Tourism heard yesterday.
Over the last 30 years, Germany has been providing financial and technical support to the water and sanitation sector as one of the lead donors.
Together with the World Bank and African Development Bank, Germany is a member of the Troika which represents the cooperating partners in the water sector.
Ambassador to Zambia Achim Burkart said his government was committed to enhancing an integrated concept of water resource management and water supply and sanitation services through an inclusive programme to rural and urban areas through the German Development Cooperation (GDC).
Mr Burkart said yesterday that GDC’s overall objective in focal area of water and sanitation was to improve integrate water resource management (WRM) in consideration of adaption to effects of climate change.
He said the support had also improved adequate access to safe water and sanitation for poor and malnourished people with a particular focus on improving the access to adequate sanitation.
“So far approximately 2.5 million people in urban, peri-urban and rural areas have benefited from the German support for water supply and sanitarian,” he said.
In rural areas, GDC considerably contributed to a steady increase of access  rates to drinking water, providing  about 3,500 boreholes and water points and support to districts and provinces through Provincial Support Team (PST) in Eastern province, and since 2015 as well in North-Western, Luapula and Southern provinces.
The ambassador said this when he appeared before the Committee chaired by United Party for National Development (UPND) Mbabala Member of Parliament (MP) Ephraim Bbelemu.
He was submitting on the German-Zambia cooperation in the water and sanitation sector.
Mr Burkart said among other support was coming from Germany Development bank, KfW, focusing on the establishment of integral water resource management information (IWRMIS)
Under phase-one of this project, the physical implementation of 11 groundwater monitoring wells and 65 river gauging stations were completed in 2016.
He said phase two of the project was launched end of last year and would add additional groundwater monitoring wells and river gauging stations around the country to improve the coverage.
Mr Bbelemu hailed the German government for continued support to help uplift the living standards of the people of Zambia through access to safe drinking water across the country.