Kenya to spend Sh250bn on projects

• Development programmes will cover areas such as irrigation of food and cash crops, hydro-electric power generation and supply of clean water.

• Other projects are: Development of fisheries, conservation of the country’s water towers, job creation at the grassroots level and development in rural areas.

• Cabinet says projects will collectively create 213,000 jobs directly and another 956,000 others indirectly.

The Kenya Cabinet has approved eighteen multi-billion shilling projects to address the food, water and energy crises and create over one million jobs.

A cabinet meeting chaired by President Kibaki on Thursday gave the go-ahead for the projects to be implemented at an estimated Sh250 billion over the next eight years.

According to a brief from the Presidential Pres Service (PPS), the eighteen multi-purpose projects will be implemented by the six regional development authorities under the Ministry of regional authorities and will be spread over all parts of the country.

They will cover areas such as irrigation of food and cash crops, hydro-electric power generation, supply of clean water, development of fisheries, conservation of the country’s water towers, job creation at the grassroots level and development in rural areas.

The six development authorities to undertake the projects include: the Lake Basin Development Authority, the Tana and Athi River Development Authority, the Kerio Valley Development Authority, Ewaso Ngiro North Development Authority, Ewaso Ngiro South Development Authority and Coast Development Authority.

According to the statement, the Coast Development Authority will implement the Sabaki River Integrated project, the lake Chala Integrated Water resource project and the Mwache Dam Multi-purpose project

Ewaso Ngiro North will on its part implement the Wajir Integrated Development project, the Northern Kenya Integrated Abattoir project and the development of gum-arabic and gum raisins

The breakdown reveals that Ewaso Ngiro South will implement the Lower Ewaso Nyiro River basin Integrated and Multi-purpose project, the Integrated Greater Mara Tourism development project and the Integrated Mau catchment conservation and development project.

Tarda will implement the Upper Tana catchment , afforestation and conservation project, the High Grand Falls Multi-purpose project, the Munyu Multi-purpose reservoir and the Kibwezi Irrigation project while the Lake Basin development authority was allocated the Nandi Hydro-power integrated development project, the Magwagwa Multi-purpose project and the Webuye-Teremi Multi -purpose project

The Kerio Valley development authority will implement the Turkwell Downstream Irrigation and Multi-purpose project, the Arror Integrated Multi-purpose project and the Cherangani Hills water shed conservation and rehabilitation multi- purpose project.

The Cabinet said that the projects will collectively create 213,000 jobs directly and another 956,000 others indirectly.

In addition to the direct and indirect jobs, the projects will create an extra 630 megawatts of power to the nation grid, an extra 600,000 acres of land under irrigation and 15,700 square kilometres of forest cover.

The government committed itself to funding the feasibility studies for the projects but resolved that their actual funding would be undertaken through private – public partnerships.

“The Cabinet noted that the projects are expected to deal with some of the major challenges facing the country on a medium and long term basis,” read the cabinet brief.

The cabinet directed the ministry of Regional Development and other relevant ministries to start implementing the projects.