From Pwanagba Agabus, Jos
A Non Governmental Organisation under the aegis of Transfer of Appropriate Sustainable Technology and Expertise (TASTE) in collaboration with the Member representing Irigwe/Rukuba Constituency in the Plateau State House of Assembly, Hon. Musa Agah, have donated a solar powered borehole and toilets to Kpenrie community.
The aforementioned community is under Kwall District in Bassa LGA of the State.
Our Correspondent reports that TASTE has been rendering similar interventions to several communities in Nigeria for over 20 years, the recent being the one in Kpenrie, two in Mikang LGA of the state and another in Kagoro, Southern Kaduna.
The project is estimated to have cost N4.2 million with the lawmaker paying the 10% of the amount to access the grant.
Addressing the residents of the community during the commissioning and handing over of the projects, Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, RT. Hon Abok Nuhu, said the state has witness significant increase in water related facilities since the inception of the present administration in the state.
Nuhu who was represented by the Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly, Hon. Saleh Yipmong, maintained that, “With the commissioning of this solar powered borehole project and toilets, it will reduce significantly the cases of waterborne diseases in the state.
“We are calling on Plateau people to safeguard some of these facilities anywhere they are sited; and also collaborate with government and their partners as they continue to provide these services.
Also speaking, the Member representing Irigwe/Rukuba Constituency, Hon. Musa Agah, said he was happy to partner with TASTE to render service to his constituents.
Agah said, “Interventions like this are always a thing of joy for me. This remains a cardinal priority to me”.
The Lawmaker who is also the House Committee Chairman on Water Resources and Energy, assured his constituents that more of such interventions will be witnessed in no distant time.
Earlier in his address, Country Director of TASTE, Mr. Nuhu Yakubu, said, “The essence of TASTE as an organisation is to ensure that rural and vulnerable communities have access to clean water and sanitation.
Yakubu added that constant hand washing reduces 30-50% respiratory diseases and infections among humans.
According to him, “Today most of us wash our hands more often than before, and the access to this water will further prevent the spread of COVID-19, which is a basic thing we have to do”.
In his remarks, the District Head of Kwall, His Royal Highness, Hala Biti, thanked TASTE for its gesture to Kpenrie community.
The Royal father also commended the Lawmaker for collaborating with TASTE, by paying the counterpart fund which enabled the community to access the benefit from the two projects (a solar powered borehole and 4 toilets).
