E-News Beat #33
Januari 2023 | News and latest updates
Media and Communications Practitioners in Rwanda Trained on Why Integrated Water Resources Management Matters
The Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) through the Integrated Water Resources Management Programme (IWRM) team has trained Rwandan media and communication professionals on the importance of water resources management at the Scheba Hotel, Kigali on 7th-8th December 2022.
The training aimed at equipping over 13 media and communication professionals with knowledge and skills related to IWRM, generating media interests in covering IWRM, and motivating trainees to create an IWRM-Media Network for effective LVBC-Media engagement.
Opening the training, the LVBC Focal Person in Rwanda, Mr. Seth Muhawenimana from the Ministry of Environment (MoE), commended LVBC for prioritizing media and communication professionals in view of their role of informing the Rwandan population about the IWRM and environmental issues. “Rwandan policy-makers, technocrats and the local population access most important information from the news media and communication professionals,” Muhawenimana, from the Ministry of Environment noted.
He thanked the Federal Germany Government, KfW and the European Union for supporting such an important initiative.
LVBC’s Deputy Executive Secretary, Eng. Coletha Ruhamya, underscored the relevance of the training as it relates to LVBC’s mandate and sustainable development agenda. “The media and communication professionals shine a spotlight on problems and offer practical solutions,” Eng. Coletha Ruhamya added that the training is an opportunity for media and communication actors to understand, but also to communicate a new and exciting investment, the Kigali Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant.
Image: Media Engagement Training is vital to explain the importance of IWRM and the positive impact of a new investment for Kigali residents
The impact of the training
Key statistical data presented in the training established an estimate of 93% of Kigali’s population relying either on pit latrines or septic tanks as sanitation facilities, while 7% use semi-centralised systems. It was revealed that the current practice of dumping collected wastewater and faecal sludge at Nduba Landfill is not environmentally sound and sustainable, and affects negatively downstream water bodies including the Lake Victoria; hence the rationale for Kigali Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant. The project will be completed by end of 2025 and an estimate of 1,836,685 Rwandans living in Kigali City and surroundings are expected to benefit from the project by 2035.
Journalists from different media organs and communications officers seconded by sectoral ministries, corporates and institutions in Rwanda, specifically the Ministry of Environment, Water and Sanitation Corporation Agency (WASAC), and the Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB) applauded the Kigali Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant’s potential to trigger socio-economic and sound environmental benefits and impacts.
Media coverage of the workshop is as follows: CLICK HERE
The Government of Rwanda targets delivering 100% clean water and sanitation respectively by 2024. Currently, access to clean water for all is at 89.2% and 89.6% sanitation, according to Rwanda Household Survey (2019-2020).