By Ali Abdi
The construction of the Isiolo-Moyale road has stalled allegedly because locals have taken over boreholes used by the contractor.
Yesterday, the Kenya National Highway Authority (Kenha) accused a Marsabit-based NGO of inciting locals to take over five of six boreholes used by the contractor.
The NGO has since erected its own signboard on five boreholes showing the projects had been sponsored by their partners while its role had been to ensure supply of piped water to the surrounding villages.
Kenha Upper Eastern regional manager Andrew Maiteka said the authority’s signboards were replaced with that of the local NGO.
‘‘The contractor cannot access the boreholes we put up because the NGO has even recruited armed guards at the five sites along the section between Bubisa and Turbi,” said engineer Maiteka at Kenha regional office in Isiolo town.
The 122km section between Marsabit town and Turbi trading centre is constructed by China Jiangsu at a cost of Sh13 billion. It is funded by the Government and the Africa Development Bank.
At the start of the project early last year, explained the engineer, Kenha drilled ten boreholes. It gave out two, located some few kilometres off the highway, to the local pastoralists as part of its corporate social responsibility. Maiteka lamented that the contractor now has access to only one borehole.
According to Maiteka, the contractor requires more than 50,000 litres of water per day.
“If we do not get full access to the boreholes, we will have to ferry water with tankers from Logologo, about 180km from the area,” he added. “This will delay work and increase cost of the project.”
Commissioned work
He called on the locals to understand the importance of the project, adding that the boreholes would be left for use by the locals once the construction is complete.
The first section of the road between Isiolo town and Merille was delayed for about a year when local herdsmen in Samburu East demanded the contractor serve them with water during the 2010/2011 drought.
China Wu Yi, which did the construction work on the 136km section, was forced to serve locals and their livestock with water for four months at the expense of their work.
President Kibaki commissioned work on the fourth section of the road between Turbi and Moyale town two weeks ago. The Sh12 billion project was contracted to China Wu Yi.