On Thursday, 15 December, Frontier mine officially commissioned the Amenshi E Bumi (meaning Water is life in Bemba) Water Reticulation System, which will provide the municipality of Sakania, and its approximate 20,000 households, with a stable and sustainable supply of clean water.
A major milestone for Frontier mine, the achievement of this long-term project to the community was celebrated in a ceremony attended by his Excellency the Governor of the Province of Haut-Katanga, Mr. Jacques Kyabula Katwe, numerous provincial ministers, local representatives, community groups and Frontier mine management.
Background
In 2017 it became apparent that the growing population of Sakania exceeded the capacity of the original town water supply, which promoted Frontier mine to look for solutions to supply sustainable water access to its community.
Knowing that it would be a long-term project to design and implement a sustainable water supply system, Frontier mine initiated solutions, both short and medium-term, for the local community. These included repairing water pumps, drilling additional wells, rehabilitating boreholes in the Sakania vicinity and installing solar pumps to deliver water supply.
The now completed Amenshi E Bumi system, boasts three large-diameter, high-flow boreholes as its supply source and two water tanks with a total holding capacity of 3,300 cubic metres*. This will provide a total flow of 411 cubic metres of water per hour transported through a network of pipes spanning 21,452 metres, to provide the town of Sakania with an ample, sustainable, and continuous water supply.
During the commissioning ceremony, Xavier Thérin, General Manager at Frontier mine, spoke, saying: “We take great pride in this project for its contribution to the sustainable development and welfare of our communities. The residents of Sakania now have a constant supply of water, and with the reticulation system’s many access points, no one in the community needs to venture further than 250 metres to gain access to clean water.”
“This important achievement is a testament to ERG’s ongoing commitment to our communities. I would like to thank Xavier Thérin and the Frontier mine team for living into our Values of Development and Responsibility, and their unwavering focus on delivering this project for benefit of those who rely on us.”
Sergei Verbitckii, ERG Africa CEO
*A cubic metre equals 1,000 liters of water.
