In Guinea, development partners want to accelerate the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is within this framework that the Guinean government recently signed a financing agreement worth 26.5 million euros (about 233.3 billion Guinean francs) with the European Union (EU) represented in Guinea by Juan José Villa Chacon.
This funding will enable the training of young people over the next five years in the fields of the green and blue economy, agroecology, clean energy, sanitation, health, water and digital technology. The funds will be mobilised by the EU from the French Development Agency (AFD), the Belgian Development Agency (ENABEL) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the German international development cooperation agency.
“This support programme will support the coherence between vocational training and labour market demand. As a result, it will focus on gender and the establishment of partnerships with the private sector with a view to promoting decent jobs,” explains Alpha Bacar Barry, Guinea’s Minister for Technical Education and Vocational Training.
Accelerating sustainable development
In order to implement the SDGs by 2030, the Guinean authorities have launched vast projects in various sectors, including water and sanitation, which is advocated by SDG 6. For example, the Urban Water Project of Guinea (PUEG) was launched in 2020. This project is financed by the World Bank via its subsidiary IDA (International Development Association) to the tune of 30 million dollars (269 billion Guinean francs). The project, on which work is currently underway, aims to increase access to improved water and sanitation services in the capital Conakry and to strengthen the operational performance of the Société des Eaux de Guinée (SEG).
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The five-year PUEG targets 730,000 people in the Conakry region and a few surrounding towns including Coyah, Dubreka, and Forécariah. In Conakry, the initiative will essentially enable the rehabilitation of the Kakoulima catchment points through the development of water intake structures, the replacement of the raw water transport pipe (9 km) at the Kitema catchment point and the renewal of the section of the grey cast iron treated water pipe between PK43 and Dabompa Forêt. These works will eventually allow for the creation of 5,000 new connections, as well as the installation of 20 standpipes.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi