It will not be long when residents of Monrovia and its environs turn on their faucets after nearly two (2) weeks of water shortage—according to the management of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC).
The Corporation said about sixty percent repair work has been done on the recently raptured thirty-six transmission pipeline.
According to the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation Spokesman, Nimpson Todd, the first round of patching has been concluded, while welding is on-going by the rigorous technical team of the LWSC.
“The first round of patching is done with already, and our team is ensuring that welding is as well completed before the close of the day,” LWSC Communication Director Todd told the media.
Todd explained that, due to the importance of the thirty-six transmission pipeline because it supplies a greater portion of the city, all attention is driven to restoring the facility.
“The thirty-six is our biggest transmission facility. It is only right that I announce to you the level of commitment and energy we have put into getting it up and running,” Todd said.
The Liberia Water And Sewer Corporation (LWSC) chief spokesman disclosed that the corporation has set Friday, February 6, 2021 as the date for the resumption of unhindered pipe-borne water via the thirty-six inch transmission pipeline.
“With the level of energy we are exerting, I can safely say that water via the thirty-six will be available by Friday,” Todd expressed optimistically.
According to Todd, the only reason the thirty-six is not at completion level, in terms of its repair, is some minor challenges the LWSC technicians were experiencing earlier during the repair.
“We could have been up and running by now, but due to some little challenges with loose mud walls, we are where we are,” he explained.
Todd explained that mud slid backed into the cleared pit during the initial repair, which he said has long been taken care of.
Meanwhile, the Liberia Water And Sewer Corporation said it is not bothered by comments on social media coming from people who once worked in the corporation and know exactly the challenges one goes through in running the LWSC.
Responding to a recent social media (Facebook) post by the LWSC immediate former Board-Chair, Dr. Kimmie Weeks, in which he claimed the management team at LWSC is pretending to provide leadership, the corporation’s spokesperson said the Duannah Kamara leadership at LWSC is not pretentious but consistently dealing with many challenges, some of whom Dr. Weeks and team had to confront.
Nimpson Todd noted that LWSC as a technical institution can barely survive without donor assistance, which he claims the LWSC former Board chair knows very well.
“Our former Board Chair knows very well that LWSC as a technical institution will not survive or be effective without donor intervention,” Todd said.
According to Todd, the infrastructural challenges alone at the corporation requires consistent assistance if LWSC should return to its pre-war status .
“We are still running a 1950s system in the 21st century, then you are talking about pretense,” Todd expressed in frustration.
The Liberia Water And Sewer Corporation communication chief claimed Dr. Kimmie Weeks may only be making such statements due to the fact that he is no longer at the LWSC and he thinks he should still be at the helm of authority.
Todd recounted that, during the reign of Dr. Weeks, majority of projects undertaken at the corporation, including the rehabilitation of the Water Treatment Plant, were financed by donors.
“If the African Development Bank (AfFB) had not rehabilitated the WTP, Dr. Weeks knows very well that he and his team would have never succeeded in getting it to where it is today,” Todd reminded Dr. Weeks.
The LWSC management, through its spokesman, also reminded his former Board Chair that the Duannah Kamara leadership is pursuing one of Dr. Weeks’ dreams at the corporation, which is evident that LWSC survives hugely with donors funding.
“Hon. Duannah Kamara and team are today pursuing the much publicized and desired pre-metering contract, something that Dr. Weeks leadership began. Doesn’t this point to the fact that Dr. Weeks wasn’t honest on his Facebook post?” Todd asked. The Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation is clothed with the statutory mandate of providing portable, purified pipe-borne water within the borders of Liberia.