Ahead of the 2017 international year of water cooperation, members of the Civil Society Organisation in Imo state, have organized a workshop aimed at raising awareness for increased cooperation to tackle the challenges facing water management and its distribution.
The event which was held in Owerri the Imo state capital with the theme “The human right to water and sanitation” was organized by the center for peace across borders(CEPAB) with major members of the civil society groups in attendance.
Speaking with newsmen after the workshop, the team leader of the group Ambassador Clinton Ezeigwe, said the advocacy workshop was in line with water action month that will be celebrated across the world, during the World Water Day.
He stated that by declaring a particular day to focus on water, the United Nations (UN) hopes to highlight the history of successful water cooperation initiatives, as well as identify burning issues on water education, water diplomacy, transboundary water management, financing cooperation, national/international legal frameworks, and the linkages with sustainable development goals.
He said “March 22nd will be the world water say and among the things we will be calling for is the increase of water budget to 2%. We have been working hard to get the state government to listen and implement this goal.
“We will use the opportunity to also call on the state government to stop wasting water especially in the course of road construction in the state, the water pipelines are broken and water is wasting away instead of getting to the people it is meant for” he said.
Ezeigwe expressed disappointment that in the 21st century, and the rural communities were yet to have access to portable water.
“We also want the government to ensure water gets to the people in the rural areas, schools and health centres in rural areas are suffering a lot as a result of unavailability of water the government attend to the needs of the people”.