Residents use Sh6bn Homa Bay dam to wash clothes
The Kimira Oluch Smallholder Farm Irrigation Project in Homa Bay County is already 90 per cent complete. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
A multibillion shilling dam in Homa Bay County could become a white elephant as residents wash their clothes there instead of watering crops.
On Monday, two MPs claimed residents of Karachuonyo and Rangwe constituencies were misusing the Sh6 billion Kimira Oluch Smallholder Farm Irrigation Project.
Karachuonyo MP Adipo Okuome and his Rangwe counterpart Dr Lilian Gogo faulted residents for using the irrigation water from the project to wash clothes instead of growing crops.
FOOD SECURITY
The facility covers the two constituencies and is already 90 per cent complete.
Currently, water is already flowing in a number of canals which can be used for irrigation in the area.
Mr Okuome said the constituency was semiarid, therefore, the project should be utilised efficiently for food production.
“It’s unfortunate that many people are now using the water for washing clothes and motorbikes instead of growing crops yet people complain of famine,” he said.
Dr Gogo said she will roll out an agricultural plan in the constituency to stop water wastage. “I am crafting a robust agricultural plan to ensure that water from the project is not wasted,” she said.
