Hargeisa Water Agency Enhances Fire Safety with New Fire Hydrant Valves Network
The Commander of the fire fighting department, Ahmed Mohamed Sawahili and his deputy commanders who risk themselves daily for the safety of their citizens, the General Manager thanked them for the heavy responsibility on their shoulders and the wonderful job they are doing for the safety of their citizens.
Today marks the inauguration of Hargeisa's first fire hydrant valves, a crucial development for the Fire Fighting Department. Fire hydrant valves were slated for installation at locations identified as having fire vulnerabilities. These locations include markets and fuel stations which are vulnerable to fire.
The Hargeisa Water Agency and the Somaliland Fire Department have been in discussions for a while on how the project should be executed and the locations that fit the profile for the valves to be placed. The Hargeisa Water Agency directly implemented the recommendations of Major General Sawahili and his deputies on where these fire hydrant valves should be placed. We have planned to install 21 fire hydrant valves around the city. 10 of them have been installed so far and ready to serve the Fire Fighting Forces in Hargeisa. The remaining 11 valves will be completed this month and the next.
Since Hargeisa is the biggest city in Somaliland with the highest economic growth, we are committed to supporting the Fire Fighting forces and the wonderful work they are engaged in. Before these fire hydrant valves were installed, the firefighters used to fill their water tankers from their headquarters in the Shacab Area. In case a fire took place at a place further than the firefighters headquarters, the tankers would come back from such a far distance posing a huge risk and increasing the possibility of the fire spreading further. Today, we have placed these fire hydrant valves near all the vulnerable areas that fire might affect and the struggle to go back and forth between their headquarters and where the fire took place.
As you might have seen in the news recently, Hargeisa Water Agency has held accountable the companies that failed to execute projects as agreed upon and the main purpose being the full implementations of all proposed projects for our country. This has helped rejuvenate the smooth delivery of projects. The 10 fire hydrant valves that were completed recently are a testament to our ability as an agency to hold our contractor accountable. I would also like to thank FireFighters Commander, Mr. Swahili, for his active involvement in ensuring that the work is done the right way. He would continuously check how the process was going and give insight both into the locations of the hydrant valves as well as the design.
The General Manager, Mohamed Ali Darood, also thanked the Hargeisa Water Agency employees for a job well done. Without their dedication to the task and their integrity in ensuring that they deliver a tangible result, this would have been possible.
For the general public, both government officials and ordinary citizens, the Hargeisa Water Agency has done a lot so far. The biggest dam in Somaliland was built and completed recently. The dam was completely built by the agency except for $700k donations from a generous businessman. For the agency to complete such a project with a cost of $4.7M all from the agency’s finances is a test to our capabilities as an agency. Hargeisa water infrastructure capabilities has also been completed, but the underground water reserves in Darasalaam district are not enough for Hargeisa considering how vastly the city is growing. We would like to send a message to the public Kalqoray Dam and similar projects like Kalqoray is our only chance to sustain Hargeisa’s water demands.
