By Yusufu S. Bangura
Community members fetching water from the water basin
In order to address challenges like inequitable access to water and WASH facilities across Freetown, the Blue Peace Financing Initiative in partnership with the Freetown City Council, United Nations (UNCDF) has handed over 65 water kiosks and 15 public toilets to 48 communities.
The Blue Peace Financing Initiative aims at creating a new market in the sustainable finance field that can cover the investment needs of transboundary basins globally, while giving riparian countries a financial incentive for cooperation around those basins, contributing to sustainable development, water cooperation and peace.
In Freetown, the Blue Peace Financing Initiative seeks to support the Freetown City Council to build long term capacity to address challenges like inequitable access to water and water-related services.
While doing a symbolic handing over to the people of Mayenkineh community, Calaba town, Head of Delegation, Swiss Development Cooperation, Janine Kuriger said they are working closely with the Freetown City Council to support their Transform Freetown agenda.
Speaking about her country, Kuriger said Switzerland don’t face any problems with water, so they have daily access to water and decent sanitation, so it’s really easy for them to get access to water, but however, they know that for a majority of the people around the world face a lot of challenges with water.
She said they also have to respond to so many different needs, like electricity, water, health, among others, but sometimes there is also problem to really having all the funding available that is needed.
She stated that one of their key objectives of this agenda is to provide 75% of Freetown’s residents with access to clean water.
“As part of our collaboration, we are developing a financial model to generate the necessary resources for expanding water access in local communities,” she said.
She further said public funding alone is not sufficient to meet the demand for clean water, in order to bridge this gap, they are incorporating private sector funding into their model which enables revenue generation from local water kiosks that can be used to repay potential loans in the future and cover the operation and maintenance costs of water facilities.
“Our work is not limited to Freetown. Through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss Government, we are facilitating and supporting access to clean drinking water and sanitation worldwide. However, a significant funding gap remains a challenge in many countries. To address this, we are exploring innovative financing solutions that can be scaled globally,” she stated.
Kuriger continued that the initiative started five years ago, and they are pleased with the progress so far, adding that this is my first time in Freetown, I am impressed by the work that has been done.
“Our goal is to establish a sustainable funding stream for WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) services, ensuring long-term maintenance and expansion. So far, we have reached approximately 70,000 people, but we aim to scale this impact significantly. By doing so, we contribute to the Transform Freetown agenda and work towards achieving 75% access to clean water and sanitation for the city’s population,” she ended.
Kwaku Lisk Esq, Deputy Mayor of Freetown expressed his appreciation to Blue Peace and UNCDF for supporting his municipality with good clean water and sanitation, stating that water is one of the major issues of the country especially Mayenkineh community.
He said over the years, inadequate water supply has affected girlchild education because when they went to fetch water at night they engaged in sexual intercourse and later got pregnated which led them to the street, but through the project all those challenges will be solved.
He encouraged community stakeholders to maintain the water basin that has been constructed for them because it will last for a long period of time if only they maintained it.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Balu Kamara thanked Blue Peace, FCC and UNCDF for providing them with good drinking water and sanitation because over the years they have gone through a lot in terms of water and sanitation.
She promised that as community they will make good use of the opportunity given to them by maintaining it and take good care of the water basin provided for them.
The Blue Peace Financing Initiative promotes access to public and private capital for local and regional non-sovereign entities who manage water resources, such as local governments and River Basin Organizations. It does so by using water as an entry point for multi-stakeholder cooperation frameworks and transforming them into investment platforms through innovative financing instruments, such as Blue Peace Bonds.
UNCDF has been able to support FCC to develop its capacity in areas like project/infrastructure planning, development and operations as well as its capacity to mobilize and manage funding and financing for such projects.
The project is delivered with active consultations and engagement with over 200 stakeholders in over 25 Wards/Communities. Decision-making was decentralized leading to full community buy-in.
