By Alfred Kollie
The head of a youth development NGO is calling on Liberia’s new President George Weah to focus on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in the country.
Timothy Kpeh, an executive of the United Youth for Peace, Education, Transparency and Development in Liberia said the issue of water sanitation and hygiene is cardinal to human survival.
As such, he said the matter should be considered as key focus.
Water, sanitation and hygiene continue to remain a major challenges for Liberia, especially in rural parts of the country, where residents lack safe drinking water and decent sanitary facilities.
A report by groups involved in the WASH sector said the lack of safe water, adequate sanitation and proper hygiene is causing a crisis in our country.
But the report published in 2015 said Liberia’s water, sanitation and hygiene, WASH crisis is not due to scarcity. But is said it was due exclusively to the lack of access, effective public policy, political will and determination.
Kpeh is challenging other officials of the Weah administration not to impose individuals who know nothing about the vision of the Wash sector on the recently established national WASH Commission.
Kpeh believes appointing individuals to the new commission who do not have any idea about the vision will be counterproductive to good governance and meeting the national and global water and sanitation targets of Liberia.
Sometime ago, dozens of civil society groups, development partners and former government officials of former Ellen Johnson Sirleaf government, under what was called WASH Compact, proposed and campaigned for the establishment of a standalone body to govern the water and sanitation sector.
That prompted the Liberian Legislature to pass into law the Water and Sanitation Commission of Liberia August 30, 2017.