State's Sh1tr plan for water and sewer coverage via investors

Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome. [Samson Wire, Standard]

Over the last few years, the water coverage or a measure of how many people have access to safe drinking water has shown consistent growth.

In the 2021/22 year, the water coverage stood at 62 per cent which is an improvement from 60 per cent recorded in the previous year, according to the Impact 15 Report released at the Water Sanitation Conference 2023 held in Mombasa last month.

This increase equates to an additional 794,011 individuals who now have access to water through a water service provider. The performance of course is mixed with some counties performing better than others.

On sewerage cover, Kenya is at 16 percent coverage which needs more improvement.

Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome spoke to Real Estate as the government currently implements various projects in water, sanitation and irrigation across the country aiming to achieve universal coverage by 2030.

How is your Ministry planning to increase coverage for both water and sewerage as envisioned by the Water Act 2016?

The Government is heavily investing in key projects across the country that will increase access to water and sewerage services including the Karimenu II Bulk Water Supply and the Mavoko Drinking Water Supply Project implemented by the Athi and Tanathi Water Works Development Agencies.

The Ministry also rehabilitated Kwale-based Pemba Dam. The dam, constructed in the 1980s along the Pemba River, will inject an additional 3000m3 per day to Kwale and Mombasa Counties and will benefit approximately 30,000 people or 6,000 households.

The Report also cited that Kenya loses around Sh11 billion annually through theft, are there any plans to mitigate this?

This situation, which results in an annual loss of 205 million cubic meters of water, is unacceptable. Such losses have two effects: first, they unfairly deny our people access to this scarce resource; second, they frequently force consumers to buy water from unlicensed vendors at exorbitant prices. These losses are a result of many things, including unlawful connections. We have chosen a holistic approach to address this problem that involves working with law authorities to prosecute those responsible.

The government plans to raise Sh1 trillion through public-private partnerships (PPPs), how will this work?

The government has embarked on an ambitious PPP program dubbed the Kenya National Water and Sanitation Investment and Financing Plan (NAWASIP) to enhance water security for irrigation, domestic, industrial uses and hydropower generation that will see the construction of 100 dams across the country.

Private sector players will marshal funds for a design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer model. These investors will in turn recoup their investment cost by selling water to consumers over the concession period. The private investors will enter into the necessary contracts through the contracting authority including the parent Ministry or its agencies.

Is this privatisation of Kenya's water resources?

The water resources belong to the people of Kenya. What we are doing is allowing private investors with financial, technical, and operational expertise to invest in the sector in a sustainable way that ensures we meet the country's water needs and ensures that investors are able to recoup their investments.

What are some of the incentives that the government will give investors to encourage them to invest in this ambitious program?

The government will absorb all the off-taker risk investors face through the water agencies or authorities for bulk water purchases they will sign with the respective investors.

Additionally, the government will undertake to negotiate equity support measures with the investors to close commercial viability gaps that may exist.

Developers have cited the lack of sewerage connectivity as one of the main reasons that have made housing in Kenya expensive...

This is very accurate because developers have to put in place this infrastructure and price this cost in their offering. These are some of the benefits the NAWASIP will afford homebuyers. But the benefits of making water more available cannot be stressed enough.

If we fix our water and sanitation infrastructure, we will drastically reduce waterborne diseases that account for the lion's share of hospital visits.

The government's goal to make Kenya food secure will also require boosting irrigation, again this is only possible by massive investment in water and irrigation.