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Chrispen Gumunyu, Business Reporter
THE fifth edition of the Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Energy (WASHen) kicks off this week in Bulawayo and will be officially opened by Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Settlement, Cde Perrance Shiri.
The event will be held at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds. In a statement, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) Company acting general manager, Mr Nicholas Ndebele said the combined conference which will include Bulawayo Water and Sewerage Services Project Improvement Service Delivery Indaba will take place on Thursday and Friday.
This year’s edition will run under the theme “Developing Sustainable Solutions to Empower the Future”
“The Water, Energy, Climate, Industry Nexus Conference taking place on the first day is being organised in partnership with the climate change department in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Settlement. The Minister, Perrance Shiri has confirmed attendance as the guest of honour,” said Mr Ndebele.
Mr Ndebele said a number of speakers with technical expertise in the areas of WASH would attend including representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Power Development as well as experts in the WASHen industry.
“Other speakers include Energy and Power Development Minister, Fortune Chasi, CEO of Distributed Power Africa Zimbabwe, Mr Divyajeet Mahajan, and other senior representatives from Africa Development Bank, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Matabeleland Chapter, Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ), Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) and Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera),” said he said.
Discussions at the conference will be centred on the exchange of innovative ideas in preparation for the effects of climate change.
“The aim of the conference is to encourage sharing of experiences and best practice knowledge on the implementation of enabling policies, innovative business models and technology applications in energy and water use efficiency in industry, as part of climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.”
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