Opposition leader Raila Odinga unearths another ‘suspect’ water project

CORD leader Raila Odinga addresses the press at Capitol Hill, Nairobi, yesterday. He has accused the Jubilee administration of hatching yet another “secret water project” which he said would turn eight counties into deserts. (PHOTO: BEVERLYNE MUSILI/ STANDARD)

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has accused the Jubilee administration of hatching yet another “secret water project” which he said would turn eight counties into deserts.

Raila’s latest dossier is on the Sh33-billion Itare Dam Water Supply Project in South West Mau Forest Water Tower meant to supply water to residents of Molo, Elburgon, Salgaa and Njoro in Nakuru County.

The former premier yesterday claimed the main purpose of re-directing the water to the targeted region is to “feed personal projects” belonging to top Jubilee leadership.

During a press conference at his Capitol Hill offices yesterday, Raila said the project would turn Bomet, Migori, Nyamira, Kisumu, Kisii and Kericho counties into deserts.

He said this is because the courses of 12 rivers, including Songol, Kipsonoi, Itare Ndoinet and Itare Kiptiget, will be diverted to collect up to 100 million litres of water per day.

Other rivers whose courses he said will be diverted are Sise, Itare, Chemosit, Timbilil, Diony Soet, Yurith, Kipchorian, Chemosir and Jamju in Bomet and Kericho counties.

He said the rivers, which feed Sondu, Gucha, Mara, Nyando and Migori rivers, will be diverted at their source in the Mau Forest for onward transmission to particular towns in Nakuru County.

He said a 57-metre high barrier was being built to collect water from the rivers at the Mau source to create the dam.

The dam will be located in Kuresoi Constituency, with a four-metre diametre tunnel that will run 14.5km underground, traversing Kuresoi, Molo and Nakuru towns.

Raila said the Sh33-billion project has raised anxiety among residents and local experts. He said the government used fake signatures and names of non-existent persons to create the impression that there was public participation while there was none.

Forged documents

The only place such an exercise was carried out, he said, was in Nakuru where residents are recipients of the project, not the affected parties.

“There was no public participation in eight counties of Narok, Bomet, Kericho, Kisii, Nyamira, Kisumu, Migori and Homa Bay whose residents will be affected by this project,” he said.

The CORD leader added that despite concerns from the residents, the government has done the unthinkable and used forged documents to show that there was public participation.

“There were no such meetings as alleged in the Environmental Impact Assessment reports. There were no attendants,” said Raila, who had come to the briefing armed with copies of the said forgeries and a video clip of residents complaining of being left out.

The EIA report was completed in December 2015, yet the project started in July 2015. Raila said it was still not clear whether a licence has been issued by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) or the Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA).

He further said that the EIA report claimed that the project will shift water from Lake Victoria catchment to Lake Nakuru basin, an issue he said has been treated casually.

“No study of the characteristics of the catchment area was ever done. There was no hydrological assessment report for the rivers where the dam is being constructed,” Raila said.

He said this will adversely affect Sondu Miriu River that is key for the Sondu Miriu hydroelectric power plant, turning Kenya’s investment into a “white elephant”.

The ODM leader also said there will be loss of ground water, disruption of tea farming in South Rift and disruption of the ecosystem of the Mara River, which will adversely affect tourism.

“We are convinced that these waters are being diverted to Ruiru and Naivasha to feed personal projects of the top leadership of Jubilee government at the expense of other Kenyans,” Raila said.

Beforehe released the dossier, President Uhuru Kenyatta had announced at the Bomas of Kenya that he knew the CORD leader was going to talk ill of the project.

But Raila  said “that was a tactic to scare me. I cannot be scared. I am not on State payroll to be afraid of my job. Jubilee is a government that thrives on publicity.”