From Mu’awiyya Bala Idris
The Katsina State Community Development Programme (CDP) has disclosed that it received 534 requests from communities across the state for the provision of potable water for inclusion in the proposed 2027 budget, highlighting the growing challenge of water scarcity.
The State Coordinator of the Community Development Programme, Dr. Kamaluddeen Kabir, made this known during the ongoing 2027 pre-budget defence organized by the Katsina State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
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According to him, the requests were submitted during the recently concluded Citizens’ Town Hall Meetings held across the state’s 361 political wards to enable communities contribute to the preparation of the 2027 budget.
Dr. Kabir explained that the requests primarily focused on the construction and rehabilitation of dams, as well as the drilling of solar-powered boreholes to improve access to safe and reliable water.
He recalled that similar appeals dominated the 2025 budget consultations, underscoring the persistent demand for improved water supply across Katsina State.
Despite the growing demand, he noted that the state government had already provided funds to communities for the rehabilitation of broken boreholes in all the 361 wards, while urging the Ministry of Water Resources and its agencies to make adequate budgetary provisions to address the communities’ concerns.
Earlier, the Executive Director of the Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (STOWASS), Lawal Dankaba, said the agency requires an additional ₦8 billion to effectively meet the water needs of communities across the state.
He explained that many semi-urban water treatment plants are in a state of disrepair and require urgent rehabilitation, adding that the agency also needs a new drilling machine to improve its operations.
Dankaba further disclosed that the agency plans to convert existing semi-urban water treatment facilities from conventional power sources to solar energy to reduce operational costs and improve efficiency.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Malik Anas, advised the Community Development Programme to prioritize the most critical requests from communities for inclusion in the 2027 budget.
He observed that, given competing demands and limited resources, the government could not address every community request simultaneously.
The Commissioner also urged agencies under the Ministry of Water Resources to prioritize the rehabilitation of existing boreholes and semi-urban water treatment facilities before embarking on the construction of new projects, emphasizing the need for prudent utilization of available resources.
