The government of Benin and the public utility company Omilayé are jointly launching the "One household, one tap" promotional campaign to improve the supply of drinking water to people in eight departments. An average of 20,000 social connections will be made in rural areas as part of this initiative over the next four years.
As part of the public-private partnership (PPP) signed with the Benin government in 2022, Omilayé will implement the “One household, one tap” promotional campaign throughout Benin. Launched on 13 July 2023, the campaign aims to provide 20,000 social connections a year to low-income households over a four-year period in the divisions of Allibori, Collines, Plateau, Mono, Couffo, Ouémé, Zou and Borgou, making a total of 80,000 social connections in the West African country.
Omilayé will begin the campaign in the division of Borgou, particularly in the council of Bembéréké. The campaign by the utility company owned by Eranove, Vergnet Hydro and Uduma will support the Beninese government’s ambition to build 200,000 social connections by 2030 to improve the drinking water supply for 9.2 million Beninese.
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“In addition to being supplied with drinking water, the beneficiaries, spread across 1,500 villages, will say goodbye to water-borne diseases and the premature dropping out of school of girls in favour of domestic tasks such as fetching water”, explains the 2nd deputy mayor of the commune of Bembéréké, Ousmane Sanni Gamia, in the department of Borgou in Benin.
Following the launch of the “One household, one tap” campaign, Omilayé distributed 25-litre basins to water fountains, with instructions to sell a basin of water for 15 CFA francs (around €0.023) and a cubic metre for 598 CFA francs (nearly €1). As a reminder, the Omilayé company (water, source of life in Yorouba) has been managing the water assets of the Allibori, Collines, Plateau, Mono, Couffo, Ouémé, Zou and Borgou departments since March 2023.
Inès Magoum
