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Water is Life – the Swiss Engagement in Prijedor

Article, 16.10.2015

Supported by the Government of Switzerland the Municipality of Prijedor rehabilitated and extended the water supply system providing people with reliable and safe drinking water. Nowadays 74'000 people in Prijedor have drinking water without interruption. Movie Water is life explains why clean water is such a critical part of lives of returnees, farmers, entrepreneurs and other population of Prijedor municipality. The movie is now available in four languages.

Water is life movie title © FDFA
Movie Water is life is available in four languages © FDFA

Until recently, less than 20% of the population in Prijedor town and all mayor settlements in this municipality had a normal water supply. The northwestern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) suffered from a lack of reliable infrastructure for the supply of drinking water, which put the population’s health at risk and hindered the development of the local economy. The municipal water in Prijedor was characterized by erratic supply and poor control of its quality.

In 2005, the authorities of Prijedor Municipality, together with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), developed a water supply project. A total of 16.4 million CHF (12.4 million by SECO) was invested to improve water infrastructure, and to enhance the functioning of the water utility. Through this project, 74’000 residents in 29 settlements in and around Prijedor now have uninterrupted top quality water supply.

To show the positive impacts of clean water supply on the lives of returnees, farmers, entrepreneurs and other population of Prijedor municipality, SECO hired domestic company SCCA/pro.ba to produce the suitable short movie.

Joseph Guntern, Director of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in BiH, at the annual Conference of Swiss cooperation in Eastern Europe 2015 in Biel, Switzerland © FDFA
Joseph Guntern, Director of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in BiH, at the annual Conference of Swiss cooperation in Eastern Europe 2015 in Biel, Switzerland © FDFA

The movie “Water is life” was showed within the annual Conference of Swiss cooperation in Eastern Europe 2015 in Biel, Switzerland. In accordance with this year's conference theme “The Western Balkans in transition – strong municipalities for sustainable development”, Director of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in BiH Joseph Guntern Director presented the achieved results and lessons learned through the Prijedor Water Supply Project and Governance Project in Water and Environmental Development (GOV-WADE). Both projects were implemented in the period from 2008 to 2012 in the northwestern part of BiH.

Project Background

Water is life movie scene © FDFA
© FDFA

 

The Prijedor water supply project was launched in 2008 and the execution of the main infrastructure lasted for six years. It involved companies and knowledge from both, the Prijedor region and Switzerland. The Swiss approach was to address the existing shortcomings at three levels – by engaging in a policy dialogue with local government, by financing water supply infrastructure and by providing technical support and transferring know-how to the Prijedor Water Utility.

The investments in to the water supply infrastructure resulted with uninterrupted supply of high quality drinking water according to the WHO standards for more than 20’000 customers (households, companies, etc.) and with 40% decrease of network leakages in rehabilitated zones. At the same time project introduced so-called Corporate Development measures important both for the Water Utility and the Municipality such as: development of business plans, improved customer relation services, modern billing and accounting systems and cost-covering water tariffs.

Such a comprehensive and innovative approach was necessary for securing sustainable results, namely reliable drinking water supply. The backbone of this approach is a service oriented municipality which enjoys the trust of its residents. In Prijedor, awareness campaigns and a transparent information policy managed to include residents early on. As a consequence, many people in Prijedor still today refer to it as “our project”.

The Water Supply Project in Prijedor is a remarkable example of cooperation between Switzerland and a dedicated municipality, leading to efficient and effective water supply under very difficult circumstances. And it demonstrates the transformational power of Switzerland’s engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  

 

Attendees the annual Conference of Swiss cooperation in Eastern Europe 2015 in Biel, Switzerland © FDFA
Participants at the annual Conference of Swiss cooperation in Eastern Europe 2015 in Biel, Switzerland © FDFA

 

Switzerland’s commitment to the Western Balkans focuses on the rule of law, democracy and the social market economy. On the basis of these three pillars, Switzerland makes a contribution to the stability and development of a region where major challenges still lie ahead some 20 years after the collapse of the socialist system.

The expenditure planned for Swiss cooperation in 2013–2016 in the Western Balkans region amounts to approximately CHF 540 million. Of this, the SDC contributes two thirds and SECO one third.

Additional information:

- Economic Cooperation and Development http://www.seco-cooperation.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en

- Transition Aid http://www.seco-cooperation.admin.ch/laender/05151/index.html?lang=en

To know more about the Swiss Cooperation with Eastern Europe visit

https://www.eda.admin.ch/deza/en/home/aktuell/agenda/jahreskonferenzen/jahreskonferenz-der-ostzusammenarbeit-2015.html

 

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Last update 27.11.2017