Stakeholders discuss water management

The National stakeholders in charge of water resource management through their umbrella association, the Rwanda Water Partnership (RWP), have met international partners to review progress and set new targets. The meeting which took place on Tuesday, at Hotel la Palisse also attracted officials from the Global Water Partnership (GWP). This event also marked the opening of a three day training of members on how to successfully adopt and harmonize the Integrated Water Resource Management tool, a model found to be more yielding in water management. During the official opening of the training, Patrick Safari, the director of planning in the Ministry of Natural Resources who also represented the Minister, commended the roles played by the various stakeholders in water resource management, and challenged them to appreciate the new scientific approaches in this cause. “We needed a sound coordination to create a synergy for water resources management and which has been realized by the Global Water Partnership, our urgent challenge now, is to shape our attitudes and step up our individual roles,” said Safari. He also urged the rural community to support and adopt the available water management strategies like tapping rain water for domestic and industrial use which has been started in Bugesera. Safari added that the meeting should help the stakeholders in water management to devise an integrated action plan for sustainable water resource management. During his speech, the regional coordinator of Global Water Partnership in Eastern Africa, Simon Thuto, underscored the importance of capacity building in this undertaking, saying that it will help to empower all stakeholders with skills and modern techniques of water management and contextualize the skills in their communities. “We have secured resources to conduct trainings to ensure that capacity can be developed such that the players make informed decisions and action plans to uplift the plight of water management,” said Thuto. In Rwanda about 70 percent of the population has access to water. Ends