In March, Lesotho commemorates the National Water Week. As a key stakeholder in
the Water Sector, the Lesotho Electricity and Water Authority (LEWA) has joined
other organizations to celebrate the National Water Week under the theme
“Accelerating Change” from 20-26 March 2023.
The theme, Accelerating Change adopted from the World Water Day 2023, is
particularly relevant in light of the growing concerns about climate change and its
impact on water resources in Lesotho. The theme highlights the need for urgent
action to ensure water resources sustainable use and management. This national
campaign should be a wake up call for Basotho to think smarter about water security
in the country. The campaign is aimed at educating the public and raising awareness
around the need to protect and conserve the country’s water resources.
The Government of Lesotho has prioritized water as a critical resource for economic
development and poverty reduction. In the National Strategic Development Plan II,
one of the Government of Lesotho’s strategies is to ensure that available water
resources will contribute to economic development and improved livelihood of
Basotho while also ensuring water security.
One of LEWA’s Strategic Objectives is to strengthen water and sewerage service
regulation and its initiatives are to: Review service territory for water and sewerage
services; Enhance Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO)’s institutional capacity
for improved operational efficiency and effectiveness; and Strengthen water and
sanitation national regulatory framework.
Speaking with the LEWA News, Manager-Technical Regulation Water, Ms. Khahiso
Kanetsi explained that the National Water Week campaign is a reminder to re-
commit efforts to ensure adequate water service delivery. In relation to LEWA, Ms.
Kanetsi mentioned that the Authority plays a significant role in promoting the
expansion of water and sewerage services in Lesotho, by ensuring that WASCO, as
a regulated utility that is licensed to provide water and sewerage services in the
urban centres of Lesotho, operates efficiently. A utility that operates efficiently is
able to keep up with the ever growing demand of water through expansion of its
water and sewerage infrastructure, while providing sustainable services to all its
customers.
The United Nations (UN) has made a call to various Governments, institutions and
organizations to commit and make progress to increase water and sanitation targets,
particularly Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which requires efforts to be
made in order to ensure access to water and sanitation for all. The 2023 celebration
serves as a reminder that the world is seriously off track on SDG 6, which, in the
end, undermines progress on all major global issues, from gender equality to jobs,
health to hunger and education to peace.
The UN Water Conference took place in New York (from 22 to 24 March 2023) to
urgently scale up action to tackle the global water crisis. The Conference is expected
to have culminated in the Water Action Agenda, a collection of bold commitments
that will mobilise the progress needed to ensure a water-secure world.