Yesterday, Habitat for Humanity Zambia in partnership with Zambia NGO WASH Forum, Water Aid Zambia, CARE Zambia, and USAID Scaling Up Nutrition Technical Assistance appeared before the Expanded Planning and Budget Committee as part of the consultative process by the National Assembly on the 2024-2026 Medium Term Budget Plan and the 2024 Annual Budget (Green Paper).
It is worth noting that despite the importance of the WASH sector in socioeconomic development, budgetary allocations have continued to face a downward spiral.
The 2023 national budgetary allocation towards WASH services was ZMW2.3 billion, a nominal decrease of 3.7% from the ZMW2.4 billion allocation in 2022, and the projected expenditure for 2024 to 2026 is expected to be reduced by 8.8%.
In view of the above, our clarion call is for government to critically look into sustainable WASH financing to enable the smooth implementation of government policies, the 8th National Development Plan, government programs such as the Zambia Water Investment Program, as well as the attainment of targets articulated in Sustainable Development Goal 6. Furthermore, government institutions mandated to provide WASH in the country whether in urban, peri-urban or rural areas need to be strengthened to deliver these essential basic services more efficiently and effectively in order to meet service level agreements.
