Speed up Sh13b mega dams, Nyeri residents tell State

NYERI: With all the three major rivers in Kieni constituency virtually dry, residents are now calling on the national government to speed up the construction of eight mega dams that stalled due to lack of funds.

They say the drying of rivers Ragati, Tigithi and Nairobi, which flow from Mt Kenya, has left many residents with no alternative source of water.

Kieni mega dams project was started by the Government three years at a cost Sh13 billion. It involved the construction of eight dams, four in the Aberdares and four in Mt Kenya regions.

Speaking at Muriru Primary School during a relief food distribution event organised by Kieni MP Kanini Kega, the residents said more than 90,000 people in the constituency were starving due to drought.

Maina Munene, a resident, accused the Government of dilly-dallying in the construction of the dams even after the feasibility study was completed. "We are yet to comprehend what went wrong after the compilation of the feasibility study, considering that more than Sh50 million was spent on the exercise," Munene observed.

 OVERLAPPING TASKS

"Everyone is anxious to know the status of these dams since people are hungry and in dire need of relief food," he added.

He said with the construction of dams, relief food will become a thing of the past, since Nyeri County is known for its agricultural productivity.

Kieni is the largest of the six constituencies in the county but is often caught up in cycles of famine, despite being sandwiched between Mt Kenya and the Aberdare ranges.

Barnabas Kariuki, 55, noted that given Kieni's location, it is hard to imagine anything growing in the area without water.

"The answer to the water challenge in Kieni has to be found. We are sure this problem could be sorted out by the eight dams," Kariuki argue

He said with more than 90,000 residents staring at possible starvation, there was need for the county and national government to come up with a solution to end the water problem.

The Kieni MP acknowledged the construction pace has been a little bit slow and called on the government to speed up the project.

"What the residents want is not relieve food, but the commencement of the construction of the dams. This will make them self-sufficient. They are eager to start horticulture through irrigation and even fish farming," Mr Kega said.

He noted the delay might have been caused by overlapping mandates between key ministries.