Anderson Ojwang'
6 August 2003
Nairobi — Water Minister Martha Karua yesterday gave provincial and district water officers up to December to ensure water supplied to consumers is safe for use.
Karua directed the officers to move fast and ensure provision of quality water for domestic consumption.
"I do not want to hear the nonsense of bottled water served to dignitaries. We must drink from the taps," she said.
Karua also slapped a ban on illegal water constructions, which she said were denying domestic consumers of the commodity.
The minister said the policy priority of the ministry were to preserve, conserve and protect available water resources.
She also said the ministry wants to see water allocated in a sustainable, rational and economical way to all and not just a few people.
She lamented that big water users have been diverting water from streams thereby denying domestic consumers of the commodity during dry seasons.
"We must give priority to domestic consumers and this calls for construction of water storage facilities to serve all stakeholders," she said.
She said the policy requires a sound investment plan which is possible only with sound institutional framework.
Karua said her ministry has been losing money through flawed procurement procedures.
She said the ministry will no longer give contracts to private companies but will instead contract other Government agencies.
"We will contract Government agencies such as Ministries of Public Works, National Water Corporation, and Kenya Army in our works to lower costs," she said.
Karua expects the cost of drilling boreholes and de-silting of dams to drastically go down due new cost-cutting measures.
She said her ministry was looking into a long-term solution to control flooding as construction of dykes does not inadequately address the problem.
"We will talk to those living in flood-prone areas to seek alternative land use to avoid loss of human life and properties," she said.
Meanwhile, Water Development Permanent Secretary Prof George Krhoda yesterday decried the high cost of running and maintaining large-scale irrigation schemes, adds Samuel Mburu.
He said many of the schemes started in the 1960s and 1970s were now on their knees and needed millions of shillings to rehabilitate and run.
He said that in the Government-run schemes, farmers are provided with seeds, fertilisers, implements and other tools but the output is not always assured.
He said that whenever the Government fails to provide the inputs, it is forced to distribute famine relief food to residents the following season thereby incurring extra expenditure.
He said it costs Sh3,000 to run a hectare of a small-scale irrigation farm per season compared to Sh5,000 in a large-scale one.
Speaking at a workshop for stakeholders in small-holder irrigation and drainage in Nakuru, Krhoda said returns in large-scale irrigation projects in terms of employment are not as good as small-scale schemes.
He disclosed that the Government needs Sh58.3 million to rehabilitate five irrigation schemes in the country, which are among others that have stalled over the years.
The PS said Mwea Irrigation Scheme needs Sh19 million, Bunyala Sh11.3 million, Bura Sh8 million, Ahero Sh15 million and West Canal Sh5 million. He said in large-scale schemes, 75 per cent of the budget goes to overhead costs owing to poor management practices.
He said small-scale irrigation projects have a high capacity to improve food production and boost employment in line with Government policy.
Krhoda said that for the past ten years, there was no clear policy on irrigation save for a draft national irrigation policy of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
He said that as a result, the Kenya and Japanese government embarked on a small-holder irrigation and drainage training project that has so far cost Sh35 million.
Opening the workshop, Karua said irrigation development in Kenya stagnated a decade ago and there was an urgent need to revitalise it.
In a speech read on her behalf by Assistant Minister John Munyes, she said that only 16 per cent of the potential irrigation area in the country had been exploited.
She said out of the total irrigation potential of 540,000 hectors, only 87,000 hectares had been put into use, saying it was a matter of grave concern.
A Deputy Resident Representative of the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (Jica), S Matsura said 160 farmers had undergone the Promotion of Small Holder Irrigation Project and In-country Training.
He said another 40 are expected to undergo that same training that takes place in Kenya, Tanzania and Japan from October.
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