Limited funds to blame for counties health woes
Western Kenya governors are railing against the Government for the poor status of the health sector in their counties.
Western Kenya governors are railing against the Government for the poor status of the health sector in their counties.
The adage water is life has been used so long it never evokes any emotions. It has been recited endlessly by young ones entertaining dignitaries at functions and hammered days on end in schools. It passes as another construction of a sentence. Yet the symbolism and meaning behind it holds so much weight for the over 40 million Kenyans now more than ever.
For a country that relies heavily on agriculture, not just for feeding its people but for growing the economy and providing her people with jobs, water is not something, it is everything. Yet its dwindling supplies have been christened the biggest catastrophe of the 21st century, with the reality of dried wells and barren lands all too bare.
Experts have warned that water wars, now being witnessed, will be bigger than anything we have ever seen. A report documented by Waterlight Africa, a think tank on habitation and natural resources, opines that water refugees will overtake traditional war refugees in Sub Saharan Africa in the next 20 years. In Kenya there are already tell-tale signs.
The newly devolved county governments are feeling the heat as different counties scramble for major water catchment areas. Traditionally resources were shared among the citizens. But county governments, keen on securing key resources with the aim of enticing investors are demarcating boundaries which are fanning inter- county squabbles. This is especially on water towers as most of the people in the counties are farmers. Demand for water by livestock and for irrigation means even the water towers are struggling to meet the growing demand.
The Athi Water Services Board has been accused of starting the construction of Northern Water Tunnel without clear guidelines by the stakeholders.
Murang’a Senator Kembi Gitura said the board is acting with impunity by constructing the water tunnel.
He said the tunnel will draw water from Gikigie, Maragua and Irati rivers in Murang’a county.
Kembi was speaking in Murang’a town. “I wonder why the Athi Water Services Board has gone contrary to an order by environmental tribunal which barred the construction until all parties come into consensus,”argued Kembi.
He said local leaders in consultation with officials of the board and representatives from Nairobi county agreed to constitute a technical committee to assess the impact of the project
but the report has not been released and discussed by the parties.
Kembi said the project was stopped after some engineers from the county moved to court seeking consultations and assessment on the water tunnel funded by World Bank at Sh6.4 billion.
The Athi Water Services Board has been accused of starting the construction of Northern Water Tunnel without clear guidelines agreed upon by all stakeholders.
Murang’a senator Kembi Gitura said the board is acting with impunity by constructing the water tunnel which will draw water from three rivers in Murang’a County as the stakeholders are still waiting for report by technocrats on social impact of the project.
Kembi who spoke in Murang’a town said the local leaders in consultation with officials of the board and representatives from Nairobi county government agreed to constitute a technical committee to assess the impact of the project and up to now ,the report has not been released and discussed by the parties.
He said the project was stopped after some engineers from the county moved to the court seeking consultations and assessment about construction of the water tunnel funded by World Bank at a tune of Sh. 6.4 billion.
“I wonder why the Athi Water Services Board has gone contrary to an order by environmental tribunal which has barred the construction of the tunnel until all parties come into consensus,”argued Kembi.
-The Star
The start of rains in Nairobi is slowly turning to be a nightmare for many city residents due to poor drainage.
Sunday night proved to be a real test for city dwellers and those who were on the roads after a heavy down pour that started at 6pm.
Vehicles got stuck in flash floods and the situation wasn’t any better Monday morning as some roads remained impassable.
To some, it was an opportunity to make quick cash as they used hand carts to carry people to elevated grounds or to bus terminus at a fee.
The Nairobi County Government has come under sharp criticism over the poor drainage which saw most city roads including those in the Central Business District flooded.
Areas worst hit by Sunday’s heavy downpour include sections of Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, the Central Business District and a number of residential areas.
Residents of South C who were among those worst hit by the flooding, told Capital FM News that the problem is a norm every rainy season.
“This is a common problem here but its slowly escalating…we want the County Government to expand the drainage system since there are more houses that has come up,†Patrick Mwangi, a resident said.
Another one said, “this time the situation was worse…it happens but it has never been like this.â€
They want the situation rectified saying the flooding also poses a major health risks if not checked.
“If the water is not drained in a few days, you can imagine the kind of mosquito that will breed in here,†another one who sought anonymity said.
-Capitalfm
By David Kuria, 2015 Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow | 8 April 2015
The idea that water might become as contentious a resource as ivory, would have seemed far-fetched two decades ago, when the world signed the Millennium development Goals. But just last week the leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan met in Khartoum to end a protracted dispute that has threatened to sour diplomatic relations among the three countries over Ethiopia’s construction of a hydroelectric dam on the River Nile.
Egypt has staunchly opposed the diversion of the Blue Nile by Ethiopia since 2013, when former President Mohamed Morsi, insisted that Egypt would not allow any threats to its water security, going as far as to suggest that blood would be spilt if the Nile ‘loses one drop’ over the debacle with Ethiopia.
The new Nile agreement reached under the leadership of Egypt’s now President al-Sisi- who this week described the Nile as Egypt’s ‘source of life’ – coincides with the launch of the 2015 United Nations World Water Development Report which finds that the planet is facing a 40 per cent water shortage by 2030 unless water management is dramatically improved worldwide.
There are few countries where this predicted shortage is of greater concern than in Kenya – a country where water demand is almost double that of available supply, and where 60 per cent of the capital’s residents are already suffering from water shortages.
During a recent trip to a health centre in Nairegie Enkare, in Narok, Kenya, I witnessed some of the impacts of these current and predicated worsening water shortages first hand. A few shallow wells provide the only source of “fresh†water for the health centre in Enkare, but they are also used by the local community for drinking, feeding livestock, washing clothes and even bathing children and with over 100 donkey water vendors, all scampering to get a drop.
Amid the hustle and bustle around the wells I noticed an expectant mother – in the later stages of pregnancy – carrying 20 litre jerrycans to the maternity unit. On enquiry, I was shocked to learn that pregnant women are required to carry the water needed for the delivery of their own babies. The health center, which offers daily services to over 100 patients, depends on the mercy of unpredictable rain water for all its hygiene use, and therefore has little choice but to request patients to bring their own.
This is just one harrowing example of how the escalating threat of water insecurity is affecting the daily lives of people all over the country. The good news is that both nationally and internationally we are beginning to rethink our relationship with water.
In Kenya, The Water Act 2002 (currently under review) has led to the creation of pseudo private water companies, fully owned by the state. This has enabled more water revenues to be invested in water management to improve water supply, also resulting in the introduction of performance contracting and better alignment of donor aid and government funding to the sector.
As part of any new relationship with water, African and international governments should explore more innovative water access and delivery mechanisms that can spur greater investments in water management, as well as the adoption of new affordable technologies.
For example, the public private partnership (PPP) model which has worked so well in the telecoms sector is now being tested in the water sector with the recent launch in Kenya of Africa’s first ever Water Fund this month in Nairobi. The Water Fund is based on a successful PPP which is providing 50 million people with a secure water supply in North and Latin America. The fund, if successful, is set to raise millions of dollars for water conservation measures to protect Kenyans from escalating water and food insecurity.
For those who may argue that water privatization is a bad thing, my response is that the gradual privatisation of Kenya’s water services, beginning with the Water Reform Programs of 2000, has led to the establishment of the water service providers (wsp) in every municipality and in rural districts, with private commercial entities increasing water access in major towns like Nairobi.
However, much more needs to be done. With the new constitution giving counties jurisdiction over water services, they are under increasing financial pressure to maintain and increase access to water, something which will be made all the more difficult without significant injections of private capital. This is why the Water Trust Fund and development banks need to explore financing innovations including pre-financing, output based aid, and PPPs to boost investment in safe water. This would allow county governments to divert more public funds to the health, education and agricultural sectors where investment is also badly needed.
As the United Nations prepares to adopts a new set of Sustainable Development Goals, the state of Kenya’s, Africa’s and the world’s depleted and degraded water resources makes it clear, that we need to rethink our relationship with this precious resource, starting by devoting at least one goal to its future treatment. In doing so we need to look beyond the urgencies of drinking water and sanitation, to the entire water management cycle, including governance, water quality, wastewater management and the prevention of natural disasters.
No woman should have to carry the water needed for the birth of her own child. And no nation should go to war to make sure its citizens have something to drink. If private sector investment, research and innovation can help to ensure a future for water in Africa, then I for one can only applaud the efforts of all players to make the most life-sustaining resource on earth available to all.
About the Author:
David Kuria is a Ph.D Researcher on Project Management and CEO of Ecotact; He is a 2015Â Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow.