Nigeria Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Program-for-Results, underpinned by a $700 million loan from the World Bank, faces significant delays due to legislative gridlock.
The stalled passage of the controversial Water Act, which is needed to unlock additional funding from the loan to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene services across the country, is the crux of the matter, according to nairametrics.
Nigeria has so far received only about 12% of the loan of $80.35 million, with the remaining $577.33 million still pending the fulfillment of certain conditions linked to the loan project.
To increase access to water and sanitation services while strengthening the institutions of the sector, the SURWASH programme was launched with a development objective.
The delay in legislative action is a major obstacle to the progress made by the project, with Programme Year 2 results submitted on 13 January 2024 and currently under review by an independent verification authority.
The failure to pass this bill before the political transition in May 2023 threatens to delay the establishment of the National WASH Fund, consequently impacting the release of the World Bank’s loan.
A document from the World Bank read, “The push to get the water bill passed by the National Assembly (NASS) before the political transition which happened in May 2023 did not materialize.
“This may result in a delay in establishing the National WASH fund as it is part of the proposed water bill. DLI 1 under the SURWASH Program is related to the National WASH Fund, so disbursements will be impacted.
“The Ministry plans to review and present again to the new National Assembly the bill after holding stakeholder consultative fora across the country.”
The Water Resources Bill, which was originally presented in April 2017 by President Muhammadu Buhari at the beginning of his first term, is intended to consolidate control over water resources within the Federal Government.
Despite passing in the House of Representatives, the bill met its first major hurdle in the Senate.
The bill’s proposition to shift control of water resources from states to the federal level sparked significant backlash from governors, stakeholders, and the media.
