Uzodinma’s Plans For Portable Water Hits Rocks In Imo LGAs

• Communities Protest Against Contractors_

The plan for the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma to provide pipe born water to all the local government areas is now suffering a set back as a result poor handling of the project in some places.

Information revealed that the contractors and government official’s incharge of the project are not living up to the expectation of the masses.

A visit to the project sites revealed that the job has been abandoned half way.

It was alleged that most of the contractor got money and disappeared after coming to the site for only two weeks.

The water corporation board and ministry incharge of public utilities that are supposed to supervise the projects are finding it so difficult to reach out to the contractors since the abandoned the site.
Few places where pipes were laid down was discovered to be having problem now.

Our source revealed that the pipes were not properly connected coupled with fact that there was no provision for connecting values that will link the villages to the source of water. As at the time of this report, the contractors have not been able carry out any form of reticulation.

Information revealed also that the World Bank agents were not pleased with the facilities on ground and the generator set made the officials to raise eyes brows when they visited the sites.

Sources further gathered that the World Bank officials who are assisting to sponsor the project despite all odds went ahead and did the enumeration of communities which the water scheme served to know the demography, the developed and underdeveloped areas, and to ensure that the projects were not done in vain.

We were also told that they inspected area of coverage of existing piped network which enable them to do the design and engineering drawing.

At Eke Nguru water scheme, in Aboh Mbaise local government area of Imo State. It was discovered that at the end of the visitation of World Bank officials the following approvals were made.

Erection of 1000m3 or 100,000 liters of underground tank, the development and installation of 5 borne holes with new risers and 60HP pumps each, installation of one new generators set installation of booster pumps, rehabilitation of all the building in the site and many other things too numerous to be mentioned here.

To our greatest surprise the items mentioned above are yet to be achieved. Nothing tangible has taken place at the communities were the project were sited.
Last month, the aggrieved communities protested against the government officials and the contractors handling the projects. The community leaders described the project as deceitful and fraudulent.