Tunisia: Water System At Heart of Small Cabinet Meeting Chaired By Prime Minister

Tunis — Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri stressed on Tuesday, while chairing a small cabinet meeting on the water system at the Government Palace in Kasbah, that the governance and reform of the water sector are among the national priorities on which the state is working in accordance with the directives of the President of the Republic.

She stressed that the governance of the water sector would enshrine the constitutional right to drinking water for all citizens on an equal footing and preserve water wealth in a manner that guarantees water security for future generations, according to a statement issued by the Prime Ministry.

Zenzri affirmed the strategic importance of the water system as a fundamental pillar for achieving water sovereignty, ensuring national security and achieving food security, especially in light of the climate challenges facing the entire world.

She pointed out that work is underway to develop legislation aimed at ensuring improved management, preservation, valorisation and protection of water resources for future generations.

She affirmed that the state is paying special attention to the maintenance of water facilities and systems to ensure their readiness to provide a regular supply of drinking water to all citizens throughout all regions of the country continuously and year-round and to avoid sudden water cuts.

Zenzri noted that the state is working to diversify water sources through the mobilisation of non-conventional water resources, alongside the implementation of major public projects in the field of water resource mobilisation, including the development of water transfer infrastructure, improving the performance of distribution networks, extending and rehabilitating drinking water supply systems in urban areas and developing sanitation and treatment services.

This is with a strategic orientation towards alternative energies as an option to control the cost of producing and transporting drinking water, she added.

For his part, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries Ezzeddine Ben Cheikh and Secretary of State to the Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries in charge of Water Hamadi Habaieb presented during the meeting a detailed and comprehensive presentation on the current state of water resources, dam reserves, the plan to secure drinking water supply for this summer, the current situation of irrigation water, future programmes and orientations in the field of valorising non-conventional water resources.

According to the statement, the emergency programme to secure drinking water s