By EPN Reporter
MBABANE – Inyatsi Construction and Eswatini Water Services Corporation (EWSC) have impressed two Cabinet ministers by delivering a splendid water supply project in the Shiselweni Region.
The Nhlangano-Siphambanweni Water Supply project was toured by Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Prince Lonkhokhela and Minister of Economic Planning and Development Dr Tambo Gina. The ministers toured the project yesterday. Inyatsi Construction was the one that did the construction part of the project, after it was commissioned by EWSC.
The project is now at 90 percent completion and 200 jobs have been created for Emaswati to work on this project. Other water supply projects visited by the ministers began at Hlatikhulu and ended at Zombodze Emuva. Some of these projects are rural electrification projects.
The ministers also visited the houses with the installed electricity. The ministers handed food parcels to the people of those areas and donated money for the residents to buy some electricity units to light up their newly installed houses. The rural electrification project was implemented by Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC).
The ministers said these projects were aimed at improving access to potable water in the country through investing in bulk water storage, rural water supply, waste treatment plants and sewers. Furthermore, the ministry sought to strengthen and guide developments in the energy sector. The ministers expressed hope that these projects would help realise sustainable development goals numbers 6 & 7.
The Ministers were very grateful to the World Bank for extending the loan to the Government. With this support they expected that every Liswati would have access to potable water and electricity by 2030. Currently, access to potable and electricity in the country stands at 75% and 82%, respectively.
The ministers also said the Eswatini Water Supply and Sanitation Access Project (EWSSAP) which they toured yesterday was anticipated to be completed by December 2025. This project was set to improve access to clean water in the corridor between Nhlangano and Siphambanweni, benefiting over 38 233 Emaswati for sanitation and 11,000 for potable water.
“In order to achieve universal access to electricity, Government launched the rural electrification programme. The Shiselweni region was prioritised under the World Bank loan as it lags behind compared to the other regions. The target is to electrify 8000 households by October, 2024. To-date more than 2338 beneficiaries have been connected.” the ministers said.
