Access to drinking water is a major problem in the Sahel region in general and in the commune of Gorom-Gorom in particular. In order to alleviate this problem, the mining company IAMGOLD Essakane SA has donated a drinking water supply infrastructure to the village of Essakane site. The inauguration ceremony took place on Tuesday 16 January 2023.
This simplified drinking water supply infrastructure (Adduction d’eau potable simplifiée – AEPS) has a capacity of 300m3 of water. IAMGOLD Essakane SA has provided the entire cost of the project, totalling 200 million FCFA. According to the mining company’s Managing Director, Tidiane Barry, this initiative is part of the mine’s sustainable development approach in the country and in its host region. In fact, he continued, IAMGOLD in general and Essakane SA in particular is implementing a support and partnership approach with the government and the people living near the mine. This is borne out by the fact that IAMGOLD has made investments and built infrastructure that go beyond its contractual obligations. Our commitment is to leave a better legacy for our host populations.
He also welcomed the fact that the completion of this infrastructure will strengthen the capacity for distribution and access to drinking water for the mine’s host communities.
The ceremony was chaired by the Minister for Energy, Mines and Quarries, Yacouba Zabré Gouba, represented by his Secretary General, Jean Baptiste Kaboré. He was accompanied by the Minister for Animal Resources, Dr Amadou Dicko, and the Governor of the Sahel region, Lieutenant-Colonel Rodolphe Sorgho.
The General Secretary of the Ministry of Mines, Jean Baptiste Kaboré, expressed his satisfaction at seeing the people of Essakane benefit from access to this “precious resource, drinking water, aptly described as blue gold”. “I would like to congratulate and express my gratitude to the mining company IAMGOLD Essakane SA for building this infrastructure, which will strengthen and improve the living conditions of the people of Gorom-Gorom and the Sahel region,” he said.
According to him, this initiative to supply drinking water to a region plagued by terrorism and its corollaries of massive population displacements “seems to reinforce the actions of the total reconquest of our national territory”. He added that the initiative would undoubtedly support and accompany the Government of Burkina Faso in its drive to reclaim parts of its territory by creating better living conditions for its people.
The governor of the Sahel region, Lieutenant-Colonel Rodolphe Sorgho, welcomed the initiative, which will alleviate the suffering of the people of this village, which has increased as a result of internal displacement. “The people of the Sahel know the value of drinking water, and we also know that water resources in our locality are difficult to mobilise. The influx of internally displaced people in the commune of Gorom-Gorom in general, and the Essakane site in particular, means that the need for water and sanitation is crucial”, he said.
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