Government helps to end water crisis in rebel stronghold

The Cote d’Ivoire government has helped to turn the taps back on in the rebel capital Bouake after a month-long dry spell, with water supplies fully restored to the country’s second largest city on Monday. Running water returned to hundreds of thousands of people living in and around Bouake with the repair of a main hydraulic pump which broke down more than four weeks ago. The work was financed by the Minister of Economic Infrastructure, Patrick Achi. The reinstallation of the pump, last Tuesday, ended a stand-off between the national utilities companies, which say they will not repair broken-down machinery until costumers in the rebel north pay their overdue water and electricity bills, and residents of Bouake, who’ve been consuming free water and power since the outbreak of civil war in 2002. The privately owned water company, SODECI, and the power firm CIE, say they are stretched to the limit and can no longer afford to invest in repair and maintenance of their crumbling infrastructures in the north, having suffered millions of dollars in damages since the crisis began. Power cuts are becoming more frequent even in the government-run south. According to Patrick Achi, at least 1,5 billion CFA (US $2,7 million) was still needed to guarantee a steady supply of drinking water to Bouake. “We are very relieved to have the taps running again,” said Bouake resident Mamadou Sanogo. “Thank god the authorities have understood that we were tiring of the situation, otherwise we could have had social trouble.”