Highlighting that the domain of waters is in the midst of the Government's attention due to its transversality and for integrating the goals of the UN Agenda 2030 – which advocates general and equal access to drinking water and sanitation by 2030 –, the official said that they are "around 60 percent of access to water, which means that a large part of the population still does not have access to basic drinking water services".
In order to reverse this situation, the minister said that efforts were being made to build new water supply systems. "Efforts are being made to build new water supply systems, the quality and regularity of supply, which directly influence the quality of life of the interior populations, both in the main urban centers and in different locations in the interior of the country, despite the scarcity of resources," he said, quoted by Angop.
With regard to the capital, he said that there are two major projects that will "compensate" the deficit in water supply: "We have in Luanda the Bita and Quilonga projects, which are the two major projects that will compensate for the deficit in water supply. Fortunately, the Bita project has just, let's say, started construction and we expect it to be in operation by 2026. We expect to build another million home connections in Luanda to serve vast areas of the city, whether in the south or in the north," he said, quoted by Rádio Nacional de Angola (RNA).
Regarding the south of the country, he said that "the program to fight the drought in the south of Angola has been given high priority by the Executive", adding that "this program includes three provinces, Cunene, Namibe, and Huíla, having been started in Cunene with the project which is the capture of the Cunene river and the Cafu canal which is currently in operation".
Cited by RNA, he also indicated that there were three other works underway, "two on the left bank and another on the right bank" and that "this program will now be extended to Huila and Namibe", having now launched "the tenders for the hiring the companies that are going to build".
The holder of the Energy and Water portfolio also took the opportunity to highlight that the Executive has been putting into practice different programs and initiatives to improve the supply of drinking water, as well as the management of water resources, in order to enable citizens to adjusted and general access to drinking water and sanitation services, writes Angop.
According to Angop, he also highlighted that actions have been carried out to build provincial laboratories aimed at guaranteeing the quality of the water, which ends up largely contributing to the reduction of diseases such as cholera and other infections.
In the field of sanitation, the minister, cited by Angop, said that studies had been carried out, with the aim of attracting funding, taking into account the need to improve the health conditions of citizens, referring to waterborne diseases.
Thus, João Baptista Borges said that there are studies and various acts carried out to manage sanitation in Lândana, Cabinda, Soyo, N'zeto, Ambriz, Porto Amboim, Lobito, Benguela, Baía Farta, Moçâmedes and Tômbwa, adding that actions are underway that have been foreseen review the water and sanitation master plans in all the municipalities of Cabinda, Bengo, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, as well as in the capitals of Huambo, Uíge, Cuanza Norte, Malanje, Bié and Huíla, writes the Angop.
