Malawi’s Water Minister, Honourable Abida Sidik Mia, has affirmed Beyond Water’s support to ensure nationwide access to safe, clean water during a meeting at the Ministry’s Office in Lilongwe:
“In my recent visit to Dowa, I was quite impressed and excited to see how Beyond Water’s Professionalised Repair and Maintenance (PRM) model of hand pumps is positively impacting local communities. As the Ministry takes great strides to improve access to safe water for Malawi’s population, we are happy to have Beyond Water as a trusted partner and hope its innovation inspires others to do the same in the drive to achieve SDG6 and Malawi 2063 vision.”
Beyond Water’s Director of Development James Kitt, has pledged continued collaboration with the Ministry of Water, in its ambition to achieve SDG 6:
“We are delighted that the Minister recognises our efforts to deliver guaranteed clean and safe water services to rural communities in a financially viable way, ensuring sustainability for Malawians. We will continue supporting the Ministry as they move to professionalise the rural water sector over the next 5 years.”
Chief Executive Officer of Beyond Water, Duncan Marsh, expressed appreciation for the Minister’s endorsement of Beyond Water’s PRM, emphasising its role as a sustainable business model to maintain water point functionality throughout Malawi:
“It was fantastic to meet Malawi’s Water Minister, She is hugely supportive of our efforts to establish a Repair and Maintenance system which is not only highly impactful for people without access to clean water by restoring pump functionality, but also financially viable. So, we set out our pathway to financial viability which is in line with the government goals to create a sustainable system of Water Point Management.”
In the organisation’s new year of operations which commences in April, Beyond Water is targeting to fix 1,000 Community Hand Pumps in Malawi, maximising on efficient management of Water User Funds to the satisfaction of all the customers.
Managing Director for Beyond Water Malawi, Phillip Chidawati reiterated the importance of partnering with Government as key to achieving the organisation’s commercialisation strategy. Beyond Water’s PRM Model guarantees year-round access to safe water. Communities willingly contribute to a high-quality service that lays a foundation for better health, opportunities for women and girls and climate resilience.
Currently, Beyond Water works with government through 3 District Councils of Mchinji, Kasungu and Dowa. Follow our work on Linkedin to keep up to date with our progress and to learn how to support our work in scaling up PRM in Malawi.