Why counties with enough water won’t need gold mines when new law comes into force

In the next 20 years, every village could be linked to the rest of the world by the thousands of kilometres of fibre-optic cables being laid out across the country.

The result could well be that village polytechnics, which have in the past been holding grounds for idle youth, could be transformed into digital hubs with the potential of transforming lives in the backwater villages.

Every street in the little towns mushrooming in the countryside will be lined with electricity posts as more lights are switched on in the areas on the fringes of development. In fact, it could also well be that the country would have arrived at the terminus of a newly-industrialised nation. But something will be missing from this postcard of success: clean, piped water supplied regularly.

With the clock ticking towards the 2015 deadline for achieving Millennium Development Goals and Vision 2030, there is hardly one area in Kenya that can proudly say it enjoys a steady supply of clean, piped water every day of the week. Even upmarket neighbourhoods like Muthaiga and Karen in Nairobi, I believe, have to endure some level of water rationing.

According to the latest population census figures, access to clean water remains elusive for 70 per cent of the population. As one Daily Nation sub-editor put it, “tap water is still a pipe dream” because the majority of families depend on wells as their main source of water.

Yet, part of the larger goal of both the Millennium Development Goals and Vision 2030 is to improve the public’s access to safe drinking water in the next five and 20 years, respectively. Up until now, rain has been the biggest source of water for urban households in Kenya.

The challenge arises when either the rains fail or they fall in inadequate amounts. Sometimes, it does, indeed rain cats and dogs, and the dams that hold the water burst, meaning that the surplus goes down the drain. Already, in areas like Nairobi, water rationing still persists and last week, the Meteorological Department warned that October and November could experience inadequate rainfall.

This means that the problem of water shortage could persist even in what is arguably the richest region of the country. And now, with the coming of county governments, areas like Nairobi could be in for a rude shock unless they can have reservoirs within their county boundaries.

As of now, Ndakaini Dam in Kiambu county and Sasumua in Nyandarua county are the city’s biggest suppliers of water. Once the implementation of the new Constitution begins in earnest, wananchi in these regions — which generally have no access to clean piped water — will begin to demand a redistribution of the water or that the commodity be sold to other counties at a higher premium.

Already, about 750,000 people in Nairobi do not have access to piped water, yet, in general terms, the capital is considered the most developed region of Kenya. What guarantees exist, then, to assure this section that their right to clean water as enshrined in the new Constitution will be respected if the city does not have its own water?

Repeated the rumour

I have heard it said — and believe that I have repeated the rumour here before — that in Israel, every new building is required by law to have a water harvesting system, be it in Jerusalem or Masada. And in Berlin, Germany, the local authority has devised a system of recycling water that ensures that its three million residents have access to clean, drinking water round the clock.

China too, has an elaborate water storage system which ensures that none of its one billion people ever goes thirsty. In fact, it has been said that building dams was the first major step that China took on the path to industrialisation. It could be argued that these are developed nations and have built their water infrastructure over a long time.

If that is the case, here in Kenya, those in positions of authority ought to be taking the steps that will eventually put piped water in every homestead and free the womenfolk from the burden of having to carry water on their backs so that they can engage in more meaningful and aesthetic undertakings, like travelling to Dubai or applying mascara.

Regional and national governments would be well-advised to protect and rehabilitate water-catchment areas to ensure that the natural sources of water do not dry up. From where I sit, I see that counties with surplus water will not need gold mines. They can either sell it or use it to transform their agriculture.

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Not every kienyeji chicken was counted last year

There is a problem in Kenya’s abattoirs — camels are slaughtered at night because the days are exclusively reserved for cattle, sheep and goats. According to Mr Benson Ameda, chairman of the Kenya Association of Livestock Technicians, who spoke to the Daily Nation a day after the Planning ministry released the 2009 census report last week, there are not enough slaughterhouses to satisfy the growing meat market in the country.

And the victims appear to be camels as there are no slaughterhouses reserved for them but also because they are discriminated against even when they are waiting for their butchers. Though Mr Ameda did not say this, I suspect that no one wants to be seen butchering a camel because it is not among the most beautiful of animals.

Secondly, they have such bad breath that would make customers want to keep away from places where the animals are slaughtered. I will not elaborate lest animal rights activists accuse me of hate speech. According to Mr Ameda, slaughtering camels in the wee hours of the morning is just part of the problem facing livestock in Kenya.

For ages, the association had tried to convince the Ministry of Livestock Development to carry out a census of all the livestock in Kenya. That, however, did not happen until last year and when it did happen, not every household was asked whether its members kept free-range chickens or not.

It is likely, therefore, that not every kienyeji chicken was counted. If it had, so Mr Ameda believes, the number of free-range chickens would be very close to that of the population. But as it is, there is a difference of about 10 million between the numbers, with people outnumbering their chickens.

And even then, the figures do not tell how many of these birds were hens and how many were jogoo. As such, it would be difficult to predict how their population will grow over the next 10 years. That aside, I have been made to understand that the Kenya Bureau of Standards does not recognise free-range chickens and does not, therefore, give the standard mark of quality to farmers who sell them.

What this means is that free-range chicken farmers cannot sell their poultry to supermarkets because the national standards organisation does not certify indigenous chicken. By the way, have you noticed how the price of chicken has gone up in recent months?

Why don’t we all keep some in our backyards or in the village, not just to increase their national population but also to ensure we have a source of the delicacy whenever we entertain visitors? Remember it is rare for an average Kenyan to eat chicken unless there is a special occasion, like a first date.

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Teach our young brodas how to propose, Oga

Dear Pastor Chris Ojigbani

There is no denying that what happened at the KICC, Nairobi, last Friday was som’tin else. It reminded me of what hap’nd in Calabar, which was also som’tin else, my broda. Ah! I am told thousands of single women of marriageable age were knocking on the gates of KICC and that there were more women outside than inside.

And all of them waiting for you to pray for them to get married. But if I may ask, how come there are so many young and willing women but so few men to marry them? How can so many women be so desperate to fall in love-o? Pastor, I have very many questions and my quest for answers is som’ting else.

Why is it that the men have to wait for prayer before they can propose to the women they love? Can’t they just send an SMS to their loved ones at 10.30pm and ask: Will you be my wife-o? And why, Oga, did you only organise a session for potential brides and none for potential grooms?

Is that not som’ting else? I would want to see thousands of young men coming to your meetings to be taught how to marry without much ado. My broda, please return to Nairobi and teach these young men how to propose and to marry without further stress.

Mr Mbugua is the Chief Sub-Editor of the Daily Nation. jmbugua@ke.nationmedia.com