Business in Machakos town was disrupted for several hours on Saturday evening when 500 youths contracted by the county government to carry out water mapping exercise protested over alleged delay in paying their wages.
The rowdy protesters, who chanted slogans against the county government blocked the Machakos-Nairobi highway near Kenyatta stadium with burning tires, causing a major traffic snarl-up.
Most motorists were forced to seek alternative routes to reach their destinations.
The protesters were later dispersed by anti-riot police three hours after county officials failed to address their grievances.
They claimed the county government had gone against the terms they agreed upon before the exercise began mid last week.
“We completed the first phase of water mapping and expect to be paid today (Saturday). This was what was agreed upon. Now, we are wondering why the county government has gone against that agreement,” said a protester who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.
Prompt payment
“If Governor Mutua hopes to achieve instant development, he should ensure our payments are also sorted out without delay,” he said.
But contacted for comment on the matter, Water services Chief Officer Lemi Muia said Governor Afred Mutua had sent a letter to the enumerators, detailing how and when they would receive their payments.
“It was very clear from the onset that payments would be done on Monday (today) through M-Pesa service. I do not see the cause for alarm because there is adequate budget for the exercise,” he said.
Last week, Governor Mutua flagged off a water mapping exercise, where over 15,000 enumerators were contracted to carry out mapping and record data that the county government will use to supply water to over 300,000 households.
In the exercise, the enumerators are expected to collect data on the county’s road network, distances between households and other demographic factors, to be used in quantifying the required amount of money and work force.
In the first phase, by the end of the year, each of the 896 villages will have a raised tank, while the county will dig over 800 boreholes and 820 dams.
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