With Over US$10.6 Million Spent… Angola Town Water Project Remains Incomplete
By JKM
The Auditor General’s Report 2024 has raised serious concerns over the implementation of the Freetown WASH and Aquatic Environment Revamping Project (WASHERP), revealing that the Angola Town water supply system remains incomplete despite a total project cost of US$10,680,907.69, leaving residents trapped in persistent water shortages.
According to the report, auditors inspected the Angola Town water treatment facility, which was designed to treat raw water from a nearby stream for onward distribution to surrounding communities. However, the system was found to be operating below capacity, primarily due to a significant reduction in the stream’s water level — a risk that had already been identified during the project’s planning phase.
The Auditor General disclosed that a pre-assurance study explicitly recommended the construction of a reservoir to store water during periods of low flow. Despite the allocation of US$10,680,907.69 to the wider WASHERP initiative, this critical recommendation was either inadequately implemented or left unfinished, severely undermining the project’s effectiveness.
The report questions whether the substantial investment delivered value for money, noting that public funds were committed to infrastructure that has yet to provide reliable access to safe drinking water for the intended beneficiaries. Weak project planning, inadequate supervision and poor risk mitigation were cited as contributing factors to the project’s shortcomings.
As a result, residents of Angola Town continue to depend on unsafe water sources, heightening public health risks, particularly during the dry season when water scarcity becomes more acute. The Auditor General warned that such failures not only waste scarce resources, but also threaten Sierra Leone’s progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 6, which seeks to ensure universal access to clean water and sanitation.
The report called on the relevant authorities to urgently complete outstanding components, review project design assumptions, and strengthen accountability mechanisms to ensure that future water sector investments deliver tangible benefits to communities.
With over US$10.6 million already spent, the Angola Town water project stands as a stark reminder that without sound planning and effective execution, even well-funded development projects can fail to quench the needs of the people they are meant to serve.
