Businessman Munib Al-Masri visits CMWU to discuss opportunities for private sector participation in solving the water and electricity crises.
Praising Its Efforts and Distinguished Projects
Mr. Munib Al-Masri Visits CMWU
Gaza - CMWU received at its main headquarters Palestinian businessman Mr. Munib Al-Masri, who is visiting the Gaza Strip in order to review the current situation in the Strip, and to explore the possibility of the private sector participating in finding sustainable solutions to the water and electricity problem.
He was received by Dr. Majed Awni Abu Ramadan, Chairman of CMWU's Board of Directors, and Eng. Monther Shoblaq, the Utility's Director-General, with Dr. Majed Abu Ramadan welcoming Mr. Munib Al-Masri and his accompanying delegation.
Dr. Abu Ramadan praised the importance of this visit in strengthening ways of joint cooperation with the private sector to serve the Palestinian people, and intensifying efforts aimed at improving living and service conditions, particularly water and sanitation services, expressing his great appreciation for Mr. Munib Al-Masri's continuous and distinguished efforts, which have a great positive impact on our people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in general.
Dr. Abu Ramadan explained to the guest and his accompanying delegation the history of CMWU's establishment, which began with the Birzeit University conference in 1995, in which a group of academics and workers in the water sector agreed on the necessity of working to establish a regional water utility in the Gaza Strip and West Bank as one of the most important solutions to reach the best services in the fields of water and sanitation, which began with practical steps towards establishing CMWU after signing a memorandum of understanding between the mayors of the Gaza Strip's municipalities, under the auspices of the Palestinian Water Authority, and funded by the World Bank through a group of programs that led to the beginning of the administrative and technical institutional building of CMWU since 2005, that institution which has become one of the most important service institutions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and has attracted the interest of numerous international donor institutions, with the scale of CMWU's achievements in infrastructure projects in the fields of water, sanitation, and rainwater reaching about $500 million, in addition to the existence of numerous opportunities to develop the partnership relationship with the private sector, which began since CMWU's establishment, due to the latter's belief in the role and importance of the private sector as one of the most important tributaries for improving water and sanitation services.
In turn, Eng. Monther Shoblaq affirmed the importance of this visit as it comes at a time when the Gaza Strip still suffers from numerous challenges, foremost among them the continuing Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and the worsening electricity crisis, explaining to Mr. Al-Masri the details of the current water crisis, its causes and challenges, and the projects and efforts CMWU is undertaking to overcome these problems and develop the water and sanitation sector.
In turn, Mr. Munib Al-Masri praised CMWU's prominent role, and expressed his admiration for the real achievements he witnessed, praising its continuous keenness on providing the best services and overcoming all the current obstacles in the Gaza Strip, and its refusal to surrender to the difficult circumstances, particularly since the water and sanitation sector is one of the most important basic pillars directly affecting residents and one of the most important components of national development.
Mr. Al-Masri also affirmed the importance of combining all efforts to support water and sanitation projects and preserve this main and sensitive resource, affirming his own keenness to reach, with all components of Palestinian society from the private and public sectors, the development of the economic situation in Palestine in general and in the Gaza Strip in particular.
