The General Manager, Taraba state Water Supply Agency, Engr. Musa Siam Buba Tuesday said the corporation remained committed to making it a model in service delivery in Nigeria.
Buba, who stated this in Jalingo during a three-day media roundtable on effective water, sanitation and hygiene services organised by the United States Agency for International Aids (USAID) in conjunction with the Taraba state Water Supply Agency (TSWA) said the media roundtable was aimed at discussing issues on media reporting of the WASH sector and identified barriers for media engagement in the state.
He explained that Water Sanitation Hygiene (E-WASH) programme is a technical assistance support from the USAID for four years (2018-2022).
He informed that the administration of Governor Darius Ishaku since assumption of office has worked hard to ensure that Tarabans get portable water.
He stressed that as part of Governor Darius Ishaku’s commitment towards improving the well-being of the people of the state during his first administration, the state government has employed 50 young professionals with a view to boosting staff strength of the board.
He noted that the state government has done a lot in the agency.
“The governor during his first tenure has sponsored over sixty staff to Nairobi, Kenya in order to sharpen their skills and experience to enable them perform better in improving the services of the state water supply agency,” he noted.
He maintained that the agency under review has done well in the areas digitalisation and computerisation, as well as the establishment of non-payment of water department among others.
He urged the media to assist in sensitising water consumers on the need to pay bills as at when due to enable them improve their service delivery across the state.
Speaking on the objectives of the meeting, Advocacy and Strategic Communication Adviser of USAID, Abdulsalam Badamasi noted that if the media is not involved, the public will not be aware of the E-WASH programme, and the set goals would not be achieved as expected.
Blueprint reports that participants were drew from all the representatives of both national newspapers, National, International and local media stations and other stakeholders in the state.
