WHY WATER MATTERS IN SOME AREAS OF ABIDJAN?

The definition of water is plural because of its plurality of use. But in all its different ways of use what we retain is its unavoidable importance in the life of humanity. Unfortunately, we are witnessing its scarcity and the difficulties people are facing to get water, more clean water. However, when we get access to water we use it in an inappropriate way and we do not take care of it. Thus, where are we looking for the sources of the scarcity of clean water in our country today?

Abidjan is the capital city of Ivory Coast, a twenty million inhabitants? country located in West Africa. Abidjan is divided into ten departments. But, all these ten departments do not have equal access to water while they have equal needs of water. Let us show in a first time the case of those who do have easy access to water.

In the department of Port-Bouet, the people living neighborhoods like Derriere-Warf, Adjouffou, Jean-Folly and Gonzagueville have difficulties to access water namely clean water, they use most of the time water from wall. People living in the department of Abobo and Yopougon face the same problem to access clean water. But, there are some departments where water is found easily but how it is used there.

In the department of Cocody, finding water is not a matter, people get water and clean water without any difficulty. It is in this department that we find the University Felix Houphouet-Boigny which the main University of the country. On the campus of that University water is not so a matter to the extent that caring about it is not a thought of neither the school?s authorities nor the students. Water waste is not seen as a problem. The pipe in the toilets is wasting 24/24 since now four months. Do you imagine how many liters of water are wasted only on that campus while many others in the department of Port-Bouet, Yopougon and Abobo do not have easy access to water? It was said by Boutros Boutros Ghali, former UN General Secretary: ?Water could be the cause of the future war in the Middle East?. Applying this to our context in Ivory Coast, the rarity of water and the difficult access of the majority to it could be the cause of future social tensions. What should we then do?

We have to think of an equal sharing of water and enable everyone to access and this is the responsibility of the government which should think of giving space to ?Earthpreneurs? who can invest in water. We need to launch sensitization activities each six months to make people use adequately water and take care of it.