Tunnel will deal death blow to Tana basin people, says Joho

Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho on Wednesday fuelled the controversy over a mega water project recently ignited by opposition leader Raila Odinga.

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) deputy party leader supported his senior, saying the Northern Collector Tunnel water project being constructed in Murang’a County would lead to economic sabotage of the Coast region.

Mr Joho described the project, which is being implemented by Athi River Services Board with Sh6.8 billion funding from the World Bank, as one of the many national government policies that do not put into consideration the concerns of local residents.

This came as former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru tore into Mr Odinga, accusing the Cord leader of misleading Kenyans by claiming that the project was being constructed secretly in a bid to win political sympathy from the Jubilee Party stronghold of central Kenya.

Speaking at Mikarara Village in Kirinyaga County, Ms Waiguru, who is eyeing the local governor’s seat, said: “Mr Odinga was aware of the project but he wants to fool us.”

Elsewhere, a section of Murang’a residents asked the county leaders to stop forcing the controversial project down their throat, saying the majority are not for it. They accused the leaders of failing to champion the interests of Murang’a people, who they said will be affected after the tunnel draws water from local rivers to Ndaka-ini Dam, and lamented that the county supplies 75 per cent of the water consumed in Nairobi yet Murang’a residents have nothing to show for it.

Only 30 per cent of the residents have access to improved sources of water, they added.

Governor Joho said: “This is not just about Murang’a, which in itself has suffered the consequences of ill-conceived State policies in the past with regard to coffee and tea industries.

“This is about the entire Tana River Basin, which comprises over 138,000 square kilometers and serves over 12 million people across 20 counties.”

FURTHER MARGINALISATION

The outspoken governor, who is from the Coast, said the Tana is a lifeline for Garissa, Tana River and parts of Kilifi and that the three counties and others upstream in Ukambani are among the poorest and most marginalised in Kenya.

“Like the people of Murang’a, these counties cannot afford any further marginalisation and sabotage” he said. “Unfortunately, this is what the Northern Collector Tunnel will end up doing.”

The project is intended to tap water from three rivers in the Aberdares and channel it to Ndakaini Dam in Thika so that it can be used in Nairobi.

It came under sharp criticism from the opposition, with Mr Odinga saying it was capable of turning parts of Garissa, Ukambani, Murang’a and parts of Coast into a desert in five years.

Although the government — through its spokesman, Mr Eric Kiraithe, and Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa — has rubbished the claims, the project continues to elicit concerns among the opposition.

One of Mr Odinga’s concerns, which were reiterated by Mr Joho, was that the project was designed, commissioned and construction works commenced before an environmental impact assessment report was prepared and a licence issued by the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema).

Mr Joho, like Mr Odinga, said the government ignored the right to public participation of Tana basin people and continues to implement the programme in spite of their cries.

“We could have been tempted to excuse it, to sit back, try to understand where the national government is coming from, and treat it as a mistake made in good faith,” said Mr Joho. “But the Jubilee government is digging in and digging more tunnels, maintaining that the Northern Collector Tunnel is a perfect, irreversible idea.

“This, therefore, is a deliberate act of economic sabotage.”

Mr Joho claimed the project was designed by the end of 2013 and the tender for a contractor published in March 2014 with an agreement signed with the contractor that September 1.

“A payment of Sh1,365,127,934.56 was also paid to the contractor in October,” he said. “But the terms of reference for the conduct of the environmental impact assessment were only approved in July 2014 and the environmental impact assessment report approved in November 2014.

“Then the licence by Nema got issued in February 2015. This is not how things are supposed to work. This pattern does not add up.”

He added: “Right now, more than 20,000 people and close to 100,000 head of cattle in Tana River risk starvation following a severe drought that has caused water shortage in the Tana delta. We can’t sit back and see the Tana being diverted upstream because that clearly means death downstream.”

Mr Joho asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to immediately halt the project until proper public participation in the Tana delta region.

Additional reporting by George Munene and Martin Mwaura