MCA pays agents $1.1m for clean water project
Wed, 10 May 2017 10:03:44 +0000
By AARON CHIYANZO
MECB Consulting Limited has received a US$1,182,686 million grant from the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) to provide a steady source of clean drinking water to Jack compound in Lusaka.
MCA communications and outreach manager John Kunda said Jack compound was inadequately served by the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) infrastructure.
He indicated in a presentation that it was the reason MCA had opted to give MECB Consulting Limited over US$1.1 million grant to provide clean water in the area.
Dr Kunda stated that the project would involve drilling boreholes in an offsite area blessed with clean drinking water.
He explained that the company would also be expected to pump the water about 4 kilometers to Jack compound using solar pumps.
Dr Kunda said that 30 kiosks for water using electronic dispensers would be created in the compound and that part of the existing leaky household water networks would be rehabilitated.
“Building on their round 1 grant, this project will provide a steady source of clean drinking water to Jack compound, which is currently inadequately served by LWSC infrastructure.
“The project will involve drilling boreholes in an offsite area with clean drinking water, pumping the water about 4 km to Jack compound using solar pumps as well as rehabilitating part of the existing leaky household water network,” he said.
Dr Kunda said that the project would also involve training and establishing community based enterprises to manage the water kiosks on an on-going basis for sustainability.
Meanwhile, the MCA has also given People’s Process on Housing and Poverty in Zambia a grant of US$1 million to carry out a sanitation project in Mtendere, Mandevu-Marapodi, Buseko and Soweto market.
Dr Kunda stated that the project was a community managed micro-credit scheme for improvement of sanitation.
He pointed out that the project would, among others, include the establishment of a revolving sanitation loan fund, formation of micro-enterprises, construction of toilets and training of construction teams.