The executive president of the Nicaraguan Aqueduct and Sewage Company (Enacal), Ervin Barreda, told the Parliamentary Channel how during the neoliberal administrations, the drinking water and sewage service was seen here as a business.
“It is with the Sandinista Front, in the two stages of the revolution, that it has always been seen as a human right. Drinking water is treated not as a business, but as a human right,” he stressed.
According to the official, in 2006 drinking water coverage in Nicaragua barely reached 30% of the population, mostly concentrated in Managua, where coverage reached 65%; however, today the precious liquid reaches 95% of all Nicaraguans.
Barreda said that since 2010 a specific program was started to improve supply schedules, drinking water coverage and sanitation in the countryside and the city.
“From that point on, a priority is established and a search for financing to start a program in the 17 years we have had, from 2007 to date. We have practically accumulated almost 1,2 billion dollars in water and sanitation projects,” he said.
mh/arm/mem/ybv