President Luis Abinader was present for the signing of an agreement with the government of Israel for assistance in the development of the Dominican Republic’s Master Plan for Water Management. The assistance is sought for more efficiency and effectiveness in the government’s management of water resources in the country. The objective is to create the conditions for long-term sustainability.
The agreement was signed by the executive director of the National Institute of Drinking Water and Sewerage (INAPA), Wellington Arnaud, and the chairman of the Israeli state institution, Mekorot National Water Company Ltd, Yitzhak Aharonovitch.
The Presidency reports that President Abinader highlighted that Israel has been an example in many areas and one of them is water management. He said the Dominican government wants to assimilate the best practices abroad to adapt them here, including the experiences of Israel.
“And today after several months of negotiations, we are here signing this agreement, this Master Plan for Water Management and Conservation in the Dominican Republic, between our government and the state of Israel,” said President Abinader.
President Abinader assured that this agreement strengthens his firm commitment to the National Water Pact and is a step ahead to achieve what he described as the priority of bringing efficient and quality water service to every Dominican household.
The head of state emphasized that his government has water as one of the priority objectives to improve the quality of life and for this reason has allocated five times more budget than governments in the past.
“I do not have to insist or repeat, gentlemen, that one of the great challenges of any public administration today, and increasingly in the coming years, will be the efficient management of water, drinking water, irrigation water, that is fundamental,” said President Abinader.
The director of INAPA, Wellington Arnaud emphasized that Israel is today a world model of successful public water management. He explained the Dominican water plan has five main objectives: to evaluate the current availability, losses and uses of water resources; to formulate alternative development scenarios for the management of drinking water and demand/use in various planning horizons (2030, 2040, 2050).
Also, develop solutions according to the territorial reality of each region, identifying alternative sources that meet their needs in drinking water consumption and sanitation; identify legal regulations for the measurement, consumption, preservation and protection of water resources and manage the assurance of the main sources to meet water demand in the future.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Israeli state institution Mekorot, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, says Mekorot equipment for the management of water resources will soon arrive in the country. He spoke of their 85 years of accumulated experience in the water sector. He said it is necessary to transform the culture and educate people in responsible consumption of water.
Present at the activity were the Minister of the Presidency, Joel Santos, and the Minister of Housing and Buildings, Carlos Bonilla; the ambassador of Israel, Daniel Brian Bayor; the deputy minister of Soil and Water, René Mateo, and the director of the Water Cabinet, Gilberto Reynoso.
In addition, the general director of the Santiago Aqueduct and Sewer Corporation (CORAASAN), Andrés Burgos; the executive director of the Boca Chica Aqueduct and Sewer Corporation, Félix De la Cruz, and the director of the Office for the Reorganization of Transportation (OPRET), Rafael Antonio Santos Pérez.
The Jerusalem Post praises Aharonovich for his lifetime achievements in a March 2023 article. The Post writes:
“Yitzhak Aharonovich, the son of Holocaust survivors, a moshavnik and officer in the IDF Paratroopers Brigade, accepted an offer to enlist in the Border Police, became a commander, and went on to work with the Israel Police. After completing his political career, which included serving as minister of tourism and minister of public security, he became a private citizen. Last year, he became chairman of Mekorot and helped turn a water sector in crisis into an enterprise that produces a surplus of water.”
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Presidency
Jerusalem Post
27 June 2023