The Ekiti Small Town and Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (EKSRUWASSA) has urged contractors handling borehole rehabilitation projects under the Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH) programme to comply strictly with approved specifications and technical standards.
The General Manager of the agency, Mr Ayo Alegbeleye, gave the charge at a meeting with contractors in Ado-Ekiti to familiarise them with the programme’s implementation procedures, operational guidelines and expected performance standards.
He described SURWASH as a performance-based programme with strict operational requirements, stressing that the projects must deliver measurable benefits to beneficiary communities.
Alegbeleye noted that the state’s performance would determine its eligibility for incentives under the programme.
He disclosed that the existing boreholes had been tested to establish their water-yielding capacities, adding that contractors were expected to flush the boreholes, install water tanks on approved elevated platforms and extend water distribution networks to designated areas.
According to the General Manager, the projects are expected to be completed within four weeks, subject to compliance with the prescribed procedures and documentation requirements.
He listed the requirements to include community introduction forms, GPS-tagged photographs showing the location, coordinates, date and time of project sites, and formal handover documents involving members of the Water Consumers Association (WCA) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Committees (WASHCOM) in beneficiary communities.
The General Manager said the documentation and verification processes were essential for ensuring transparency, accountability and compliance with the programme’s performance requirements.
He cautioned contractors against undertaking any activity without the knowledge and approval of their assigned site supervisors.
The General Manager warned that contractors who violated the approved specifications risked being blacklisted and required to refund funds received for the projects.
Alegbeleye also disclosed that the state government would supply the solar panels and pumps, while trained installers would be assigned to install the equipment.
He, therefore, warned contractors against engaging their own installers.
Speaking on the technical specifications, Mr Kolade Okeya said each elevated water tank platform, known as a stanchion, must be nine metres high and fitted with a 3,000-litre GeePee PVC tank.
He explained that each facility would have 12 water-fetching points, with four taps positioned in front of the stanchion and the remaining eight distributed along the sides of the reticulated network.
Okeya said the distribution network would cover one kilometre, extending 500 metres on either side of the facility, with four taps installed at the end of each 500-metre stretch.
He also stressed the need to install underground iron security bars to deter theft, provide iron-mesh perimeter fencing and erect signposts identifying the projects.
He urged contractors to provide panel hangers on the stanchions, work closely with their assigned supervisors and comply strictly with the approved technical standards.
On the programme’s Environmental and Social Safeguards component, Mr Olarenwaju Adebayo urged contractors to protect workers, beneficiary communities and the environment throughout project implementation.
He called for effective waste management plans, grievance redress mechanisms, compliance with occupational health and safety standards, and codes of conduct to prevent gender-based violence, sexual harassment and child labour.
Adebayo also emphasised workers’ welfare, urging contractors to pay salaries and wages promptly and fairly, provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and maintain safe working conditions.
On administrative compliance, Mr Oladapo Akinlabi said independent monitoring bodies, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Ministry of Budget would conduct rigorous site evaluations before the issuance of relevant performance and procurement certificates.
He said the required documentation, including monitoring and evaluation performance certificates, Certificates of Payment (COP) and Certificates of No Objection (CON), was essential for accountability and compliance with the programme’s requirements.
One of the contractors, Mr Niyi Oyewole, Project Manager of Blue Offshore Global Services, appreciated the agency for the meeting and pledged the company’s commitment to complying with the programme’s specifications and implementation guidelines.