A fire engine was delivered to the people of Kikla in southwestern Libya, part of a two million-dollar assistance package that also includes the main hospital, a technical institute, schools and municipality buildings.
The fire engine is necessary to bring an aspect of safety back to the town which is located about 150 kilometers southwest of the capital Tripoli and originally had a population of 10,000.
The infrastructure in Kikla has suffered considerable damage during the clashes and the fighting drove about 90% of its residents away.
“The municipality is happy to receive the truck and looks forward to receiving the rest of the assistance so it can better serve the current residents and encourage our sons and daughters to return,” Noureddin Meftah, the mayor of Kikla said.
The rest of the assistance package to Kikla includes repairing the main health centre, schools in the area and the Technical Institute, all of which are being used by the town’s residents as well as by residents of several neighboring municipalities.
Today’s delivery is the first such by the Presidential Council (PC) which aims to provide speedy rehabilitation of critical infrastructure, enhancing the abilities of municipalities to offer better civic services and to building trust between the citizens and the central government.
The Council, through the Ministry of Planning, is spearheading an initiative called the Stabilization Facility for Libya (SFL) which makes quick improvements like the delivery to Kikla that are necessary for resumption of normal life for citizens. In the coming months, SFL will work on restoring hospitals, schools, water and power installations and cleaning neighborhoods.
In addition to Kikla, SFL is starting recovery works in Benghazi, in eastern Libya, and Obari in the south. All the projects will be executed in partnership with the municipalities, civil society groups and organizations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other UN agencies and relevant stakeholders.
(Source: UNDP in Libya)
