Professionals should manage water firms, says Chelugui

The Ministry of Water and Sanitation will vet all managers of water companies which are under the Water Service Regulatory Board in order to ensure that they are run by professionals.

Water Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui has said that his ministry has directed county governments to ensure the companies are managed effectively.

“We want the companies to be run by professionals and that is why the ministry will soon issue a directive to these effect,” said Mr Chelugui.

He said that most of the companies are offering poor services due to lack of professionalism.

“That is why the ministry will intervene since water is a shared resource, “said the CS.

MISMANAGEMENT

Mr Chelugui disclosed that among the officials to be vetted include managing directors and technical, commercial and human resource managers.

He regretted that there is a lot of mismanagement and corruption in some of the companies and hence the national government’s intervention.

“Why would Nairobi City County for instance appoint a technical manager for Nairobi Water Company who does not know where the pipes are?” he posed.

He made the remarks at a Nyahururu hotel when he addressed a water and sanitation county executive committee caucus conference on Wednesday evening.

TREE NURSERIES

The CS also said that a directive will be issued to all county governments to establish tree nurseries.

He said that most of the counties had neglected their water catchment areas leading to lack of water.

“As one way of mitigating this, all counties should establish tree nurseries so that they can reach the ten percent forest cover in the next three years which is our target,” he said.