. Bishop Chomba

By KENNEDY MUPESENI –

THE Government has received US$50 million from the World Bank to support the country’s Water Resource Management Project (ZWMP).

The project’s development objective is to support the implementation of an integrated framework for water resources management that promotes infrastructure development to spur economic growth, poverty reduction and climate resilience.

Meanwhile, Energy and Water Development Permanent Secretary Edward Chomba called for improved water management in the country.

“The country is not facing an economic crisis but water crisis, hence the need for all stakeholders to map out mechanisms which are aimed at efficient management of water in the country,” Bishop Chomba said.

Bishop Chomba was speaking during the overall assessment and optimisation study and design of the country’s hydro-meteorological networking workshop in Lusaka yesterday.

The permanent secretary said there was need to enhance capacity by re-enforcing and strengthening water management as well as early warning systems for the farmers to plan adequately.

“There is need for the country to build hydro-meteorology capacity by increasing the number of meteorological stations to give information on the weather patterns,” Bishop Chomba said.

He observed that poor financing to weather stations in the past had resulted in a declining number of monitoring sites and infrequent visits to the stations and that the financing would go a long way in improving the situation.

The scope of work under the World Bank funding would include the establishment of a modernised hydro-met monitoring capability for the country.

The strategic conception and future sustenance would, meanwhile, serve the region’s data needs.

The scope of work would include assessing the current state of the national hydro-meteorology, and define options for optimising the country’s hydro-meteorological services such as monitoring and weather forecasting.

Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) director general Paul Kapotwe said efficient water management was critical in achieving economic growth in any country.

“As WARMA, we have the mandate to manage water resources in the country and we will make sure that the project is implemented according to the expectations of the Government and cooperating partners,” Mr Kapotwe said.