The government will redesign and expand Itare dam, Posta dam, Soin-Koru, Itare-Litein water supply, and Londiani dams to accommodate and serve thousands of Kericho residents with enough water supply. Principal Secretary (PS) for the State Department for Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation, Dr. Paul Rono, said Itare Dam in Nakuru will be remodeled to supply about 20 per cent of its water to Kipkelion East in Kericho. The PS, who held a water consultative meeting Monday together with leaders from Kericho, who included Kericho Governor Dr Erick Mutai, Kericho County Women Representative Ms Beatrice Kemei, Ainamoi MP Benjamin Langat, and Soin Sigowet MP Justice Kemei, said that the Itate-Litein Water Supply Project will also be upgraded to supply more water to parts of Kaplong, Kapakatet, and Litein in Bureti Sub County. The PS, who was also accompanied by Lake Victoria South Water Works Chairperson Mr. Odoyo Owidi and the Kericho County Commissioner Mr Michael Lesimam, urged the leadership of Kericho and the residents to encourage the youth to establish tree nurseries, especially for indigenous trees, where the government will purchase the seedlings, adding that the projection for Kericho County is to plant more than 10 million tree seedlings every year in order to help combat climate change. Rono observed that the country was increasingly becoming water scarce, and efforts to restore wetlands and water springs and conserve the existing water bodies and rivers should be enhanced through active reforestation programs where individuals, communities, and institutions can jointly participate. Speaking to the press outside the governor’s office, Rono reiterated that they have revived an orthodox reaction to the illegal water peddlers and those who steal water in the county, leaving residents with an unanswered outcry. ‘We will ensure that every household in the Country gets access to a reliable and adequate supply of clean water to enhance better living and help boost animal and crop production,’ Rono said. Meanwhile, the PS helped in launching a Water Police Unit to oversee the curbing of water wastage and illegal water connections, which were depriving many residents of getting enough water in their households. The PS also said that other small dams and non-dam water points will be constructed across the country in order to encourage more water supply to communities in the country, which will assist in realizing the President’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). Kericho Governor Dr Erick Mutai, who spoke at the function, reaffirmed their commitments as a county to the national government projects, citing that they have signed a credible Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Department, Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation and they are welcoming Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) sectors to join them.
Source: Kenya News Agency