By Adnardo Barros
The “Water for All” program implemented in Angolan villages will be replicated in Ivory Coast by Owini, a subsidiary of the Israeli Metrelli group for the water sector, according to its CEO, Zafrir Vaknin, in a meeting with journalists a few days ago.
According to Zafrir Vaknin, the company is now in a phase of expansion in other African countries, such as Ivory Coast, with water systems, and Senegal, with agricultural irrigation infrastructure.
The Water for All program, launched in 2007, still in the era of José Eduardo dos Santos, consists of installing integrated and sustainable water supply infrastructures in urban and rural areas of the Republic of Angola.
Between 2013 and 2020, about US$274 million was invested in this program in the two phases, with interventions in 214 villages in five Angolan provinces.
The goal was to bring water to 80% of the rural population, but it is estimated that this percentage is currently around 25 to 30%.
Zafrir explained that one of the main barriers encountered in the execution of the program was logistics due to the difficulties in accessing some areas.
He assured that some lessons were learned, stressing that “the simplicity and low maintenance of the projects are decisive”.
With information from Forbes