Governor Lenku’s water reforms a blow to Ukambani
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The governor said he had toured the Noolturesh water pipeline from Sultan Hamud and was shocked to see how water has been diverted to the disadvantage of locals.
Water from Kajiado that flows to taps in Makueni and Machakos counties could be cut off after Governor Joseph ole Lenku announced new water reforms.
The Kajiado governor declared that the county would no longer suffer from acute water shortages while its resources from Oloitokitok were being enjoyed by its neighbours.
Mr Lenku said the Noolturesh water pipeline from the Oloitokitok springs all the way to Athi River must first supply Kajiado residents before it can take water to other counties.
DROUGHT
“We are hard hit by drought and lack of feed. Yet we have water within our county that is not helping us,” said Mr Lenku.
Speaking on Tuesday in Oloitokitok during Jamhuri Day celebrations, Mr Lenku said he was prepared to fight the water war to salvage Kajiado from the long-held classification as “a water scarcity county”.
“We have had water shortages since independence. This is because our water was diverted to other places in complete disregard of our rising demand for the commodity,” said Mr Lenku.
The governor said he had toured the Noolturesh water pipeline from Sultan Hamud and was shocked to see how water has been diverted to the disadvantage of locals.
“We are not opposed to sharing our resources, but we must enjoy the resources first,” he said.
He noted that he had already met officials of Tanathi Water Company to craft a formula on how the new water supply would be implemented.
“We are told that power to pump the water is a huge hindrance. The county will find a way to reduce the electricity needed for this purpose,” he said.
The sentiments were supported by Senator Philip Mpaayei and MPs Katoo ole Metito (Kajiado South) and George Sunkuiya (Kajiado West).
Mr Metito announced that herders whose animals were auctioned by Tanzanian authorities would be compensated to the tune of Sh53 million. Most of the more than 1,300 cattle that were auctioned after trespassing into Tanzania are from Kajiado South.“We thank Jubilee for this gesture. It is a relief to our people,” said Mr Metito.
