Turkana to enjoy water by November
James Teko Lopoyetum, Principal Secretary, State Department of Water, Ministry for Environment, Water and Natural Resources. The PS said that Rift Valley Water Service Board is still assembling the water equipment that will then be transported to Lodwar to ensure that Turkana residents will enjoyi underground water from the Lodwar Aquifer by November. PHOTO/JARED NYATAYA
What you need to know:
- Once the government acquired the more advanced technical equipment to exploit the huge Lotikipi Aquifer, water will be shared among the neighbouring Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda under an agreement to strengthen international relations.
- The ministry is currently conducting ground water testing on more aquifers to be established in the Southern and Eastern part of Turkana.
The government has said that Turkana residents will start enjoying underground water from the Lodwar Aquifer by November.
Principal Secretary from the ministry of water, irrigation and natural resources Mr. James Teko said that Rift Valley Water Service Board is still assembling the water equipment that will then be transported to Lodwar.
He also said once the government acquired the more advanced technical equipment to exploit the huge Lotikipi Aquifer, water will be shared among the neighboring Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda under an agreement to strengthen international relations.
“This is after we have ensured that the water is benefiting the people of Turkana first and we later source for assistance on how to further exploit the water because we can’t do it alone.” said Teko.
He said the ministry is currently conducting ground water testing on more aquifers to be established in the Southern and Eastern part of Turkana.
He advised the county government to be involved in projects that will generate more revenue from the discovered water.
He criticized the County Integrated Development Plan which has allocated 60 percent of the budget on development projects as difficult to work with if the county has few sources of revenue.
The CIDP main source of funds is the central government.
