Court thwarts bid by Murang’a water firms to raise charges

Water wars between the Murang’a County government and companies supplying the commodity in the region have once again erupted after Governor Mwangi Wa Iria’s administration obtained court orders restraining the firms from increasing tariffs.

The county government has been at loggerheads with the water companies, fighting for control of the water firms, a move that has been characterised with court battles and the employees fighting with the governor’s supporters.

Last year, the county gazetted water tariffs, lowering them to a fixed charge of Sh200 a month and scrapped meter rents.

At the same time, the reconnection fee was reduced from Sh500 to Sh100.

PROTEST

At first, all the water companies complied, only for them to later protest the charges saying the tariffs are not cost effective and that they would see them out of business.

Last week, the management of Murang’a South Water and Sanitation Company (Muswasco) held a public participation meeting in Kenol town where they explained that with the reviewed tariffs, it is not able to meet the costs of supplying water, cautioning that if the trend continues for two years, the company will close down.

Muswasco’s Managing Director Mary Nyaga said since the introduction of the low tariffs by the county government, the cost recovery started going down from 91 percent to 61 percent, adding that the company cannot cater for the supplies or honour the monthly payments for the loans.

COST RECOVERY

“We no longer meet the full cost recovery including purchasing the chemicals for water treatment, operational costs, fuel lubricants and the maintenance costs since the introduction of the county tariffs. That’s why we want to increase the water tariffs from Sh200 to Sh380 for six units which is mostly used for domestic purposes,” she said.

Immediately after the meeting, the county administration rushed to court and successfully applied for orders barring the water firm and the Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb) from effecting the new tariffs.

In a notice of motion dated June 19 and certified as urgent, the water firm and the regulator were ordered not to increase the water tariffs until further orders by the High Court.

STATUS QUO

“That pending the hearing inter partes and in the interest of justice, the status quo be maintained. For the avoidance of doubt the respondents shall not raise the tariffs for water and sanitation services until further orders of the court,” read the court order signed by the Murang’a High Court deputy registrar.

Governor Wa Iria told the Nation that the order would apply to all the other four companies which he accused of violating the county administration’s directives on tariffs and later holding meetings “to sanitise their misdeeds”.

“We know they increased the tariffs two months ago and they are holding meetings at five star hotels where ordinary citizens can’t access just to give their misdeeds credence. We won’t allow that to happen. Let them account for all the monies they receive from the national government for water services.

“It’s not their business and that of Wasreb to increase the tariffs but it our mandate as a county since water is a devolved function,” Governor Wa Iria said.