55th Nat’l Legislature Establishes Standing Committee on WASH

Members of the 55th national legislature have established a Standing Committee on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) to ensure safe drinking water and improved sanitation in the country.

Thomas A. Goshua, the Chairman of the WASH Legislative Caucus, said since Liberia was established as a country in 1847, the citizens or residents have been suffering from a severe lack of safe drinking water and improved sanitation.

The Chairman of the WASH Legislative Caucus, who is also a Representative of Grand Bassa County District #5, made the disclosure on Wednesday at his Capitol Building office during a press conference. He claimed that the situation was worsened by more than a decade of civil war, followed by EBOLA and COVID-19.

“Today, as Chairman of the WASH Legislative Caucus of Liberia, I am pleased to inform the people of Liberia and our international partners that the WASH Legislative Caucus has achieved one of its commitments by establishing a Standing Committee on WASH. This long-awaited milestone was achieved on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, by the House of Representatives,” he said.

According to him, over 25% of the country's population does not have access to safe water, only 18% have access to improved sanitation services, and hygiene is only 1% (JMP, 2021). Poor sanitation costs Liberia about 17.5 million US dollars each year (WSP 2012), while over 45% of the population still practices open defecation across all 15 counties.

He said inadequate sector financing and a lack of priority are inherent issues attributed to poor sector governance, which is intensified by fragmentation, poor coordination, and weak technical capacity.

Rep. Goshua also maintained that strong regulations, monitoring, and leadership in the sector remain huge challenges. 

“These situations in Liberia are serious national crises that demand strong government commitment,” the Chairman of the WASH Legislative Caucus stated. 

Rep. Goshua further indicated that the 53rd Legislature established a WASH Legislative Caucus, which facilitated the passage of the National Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Commission Act of 2012. 

Recently, the WASH Legislative Caucus was relaunched in March 2024 with strong commitments to establish a Standing Committee, increase financing for WASH and nutrition, and ensure policy reforms.

He averred, “These commitments were re-emphasized by the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 55th Legislature during their recent engagements with civil society organizations and development partners within the sector.”

He emphasized that the establishment of the Standing Committee is the result of many efforts made, including the recommitment of lawmakers by signing the WASH pledge cards, the review of the WASH Caucus TOR, and the work plan, which highlighted the establishment of a Standing Committee on WASH.

Rep. Goshua used the time to thank the Speaker, Jonathan Fonati Koffa, the Deputy Speaker, Thomas P. Fallah, and all members of the 55th Legislature for establishing this committee.

He also expressed gratitude to the civil society organizations, the WASH Caucus Secretariat, and the international partners, most especially WaterAid Liberia, Population Services International (PSI), Satiation and Water for All (SWA), etc., for their continued support of the WASH Legislative Caucus, which contributed to this achievement. 

“As Chairman of the WASH Legislative Caucus, the challenges of accessing safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene continue to affect the lives of citizens, most especially women, girls, and people with special needs,” he stressed. 

“As you are aware, the focus of the 55th Legislature is to ensure that WASH is prioritized by the Government of Liberia through increased financing to buttress our international partner efforts and policy reforms for better WASH governance in Liberia.”

Rep. Goshua said that as Chairman of WASH, he looks forward to working with his colleagues to ensure that the WASH sector receives the needed high-level political leadership for our citizens and residents of Liberia to have access to safe and sustainable WASH services.

He vowed to ensure that Liberia achieves its national and international WASH commitments in line with Sustainable Development Goal 6.