WaterAid Zambia says Zambia can accelerate progress towards meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and National Development Goals (NDGs) if it uses the Expanded Constituency Development Fund – CDF to increase investment in water, sanitation, and hygiene sector.
WaterAid Country Director Pamela Chisanga stated that President Hakainde Hichilema’s numerous pronouncements regarding Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services in Healthcare Facilities, Schools and public places, hence, the expanded CDF could bridge the gap of investment required to increase access particularly at community level and in public facilities such as schools and health care facilities.
“For us as WaterAid Zambia, CDF is very critical for increased access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services. We have heard a lot of pronouncements about how CDF can be utilized. We have seen how it has been ring fenced for some interventions such as bursaries. We want to look at how CDF can be utilized to support increase in funding to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services,” she said
“We want to look at how social services can be integrated to get maximum benefits of the delivery of the services in our communities. We want to ensure that even as we go out as NGOs to implement our activities, we are mindful of the contribution that CDF is making and we are able to add value to what CDF is doing at a local level so that we can maximize the investment that we are doing for the different social services that are being provided at community level,” she added
Ms Chisanga mentioned that from the research on CDF that they have conducted, it was discovered that lot of communities are not aware of how CDF can be accessed to support various social services, as there has been a lot of fixations on the empowerment aspect of the CDF and as WaterAid, they do know that a lot of communities are still struggling to access CDF empowerment funds, they want to make CDF more accountable because this is a resource that is being used to deliver development.
She highlighted that WaterAid Zambia was implementing several projects in some districts in Western Province and Southern Province.
“These projects have been delivered with quality because of the involvement of various stakeholders particularly the communities in the process of monitoring the implementation of these projects. This is a model that we would love to explore in the implementation of CDF because we have successfully delivered several projects. Now we are working in over 40 health care facilities where we are constructing maternity wards, putting water and sanitation facilities to ensure disease prevention,” she noted
The Country Director said that Members of Parliament – MPs have a key role to play in CDF meaning that they cannot have a meaningful discussion on CDF without them, and WaterAid Zambia is delighted to have an opportunity to share experiences on the Expanded CDF so that they can hear how CDF is being spent.
And Western Province Minister Kapelwa Mbangweta said that President Hakainde Hichilema gave MPs clear guidance to have toilets and running water at each school, court and health care facility.
Mr Mbangweta who is also Nkeyema MP added that all clinics going forward now needed to have maternity wards.
The Provincial Minister stated that the work being done by WaterAid was in line with the New Dawn Government’s aspirations.
WaterAid Zambia works to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international, not-for-profit organization works to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalized people. Since 1981, WaterAid Zambia has reached 3 million people. WaterAid Zambia operates in 4 Provinces in Lusaka (Lusaka District), Southern (Monze and Kazungula Districts), Luapula (Mwense and Samfya Districts) and Western (Mwandi District).