Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing Sector Strategic Medium Term Development Plan 2014-2017.

The Sector Strategic Medium Term Development Plan is a national policy with a multi-sectoral approach. The timeframe of the Strategy is 3 years between 2014 and 2017. The objectives of the Sector Strategic Medium Term Development Plan are to ensure sustainable management of the water resources for increased access to safe, adequate and affordable water under the theme “Water For All”, reduce the national housing deficit through the provision of safe, decent, secured and affordable shelter, and promote sustainable development of infrastructure facilities in the area of flood control systems, drainage, coastal protection works and operational hydrology.
The provision of adequate, safe and affordable water will be accelerated in rural and urban areas in a socially equitable manner. In order to provide safe drinking water, mechanisms for water quality monitoring will be established and operationalized. Public-private partnerships will be strengthened for water services delivery. Moreover, hygiene education will be incorporated in all water and sanitation delivery programs.
Sustainable management of water resources will be ensured through (i) reforestation for environmental and watershed management, (ii) coastal zone management for the protection, management, and sustainable use of wetlands and other coastal resources, (iii) rainwater harvesting, (iv) effective waste water treatment systems for re-use/recycling of water, (v) assessment of groundwater resources to enhance water availability, (vi) river basin management, (vii) climate change adaptation, (viii) transboundary water resources management, (ix) data collection for water resources assessment and decision-making, (x) institutional capacity building, and (xi) legislative acts and national policies for efficient water resources management. Public-private partnerships will be strengthened for protection and conservation of water resources. Environmental sanitation facilities will be improved by promoting recycling, reuse, reduction and recovery principles in waste management in major towns and cities, and by improving urban sewerage systems. In addition, a National Sanitation Authority will be established.
Capacity building will be ensured in disaster risk management. In order to prevent and mitigate disasters, investments will be promoted for early warning and response systems and impacts of natural disasters will be reduced with a multi-sectoral approach.
The Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing shall be responsible for the implementation of the various programs and sub-programs in coordination with its departments and agencies as well as all stakeholders in the sector. The Ministry shall monitor the implementation progress and periodically evaluate the performance of sector to provide evidence-based decisions for policy formulation and review.