Nairobi unable to reward Nyandarua for water supply, Sakaja says

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has said that his administration is not in a position to commence development projects in Nyandarua county as gratitude for using water from Sasumua and Konoike dams.

Sakaja and Nyandarua Governor Kiarie Badilisha appeared before the Senate Lands and Environment Committee after the Nyandarua County Assembly approved a resolution that the Senate should review and ratify agreements on the exploitation and utilization of water from the two dams.

The Nairobi governor told the Committee Chaired by John Methu (Nyandarua Senator) that counties have no budgetary allocations to start development projects outside their areas and that they are currently paying salaries from their own source revenue because of delayed disbursement of funds by the National Treasury.

"I would like to inform this committee that the allocation we receive from the National Treasury is not sufficient to carry out all our projects bearing in mind that the county assembly has to approve what we do, it is, therefore, unfathomable to think of starting projects in another county," he said.

Sakaja said that there is a need for a strong legal framework for benefit sharing covering expectations, rights and obligations of all parties.

He recommended talks on sharing of accrued benefits as envisaged in the petition to the Senate asking that it be put aside pending the enactment of applicable laws and regulations with a view to ensuring that the same is done within the confines of the law.

The governor told the committee that Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company built the dams in the 1950s to provide a reliable source of water for the city's growing population which currently provide up to 20 per cent of its water supply.

"The Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company has given priority to casuals outsourced labourers with more than 90 per cent of them coming from within the catchment area, we are also carrying out environmental conservation efforts through partnership with the locals," said Sakaja.

They revealed that Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company was working with Nyandarua County leadership to maintain access roads within the catchment area in particular Njabini-Sasumua Dam Road, Njabini - Curiri Road and Njabini-Chania Road by providing murram while Nyandarua county has been providing machinery.

Governor Badilisha told the committee that the Nyandarua County Assembly had resolved that the Senate should make a determination on the exploitation of the forest harvest in Aberdare Forest and other public forests in Nyandarua within the legal framework to ensure equitable sharing of proceeds.

He noted that Sasumua Dam is one of Kenya's largest dams is a man-made reservoir which has a total storage capacity of approximately 32 million cubic meters of water and collects water from four rivers located in Nyandarua County.

"It is very important that those who protect rivers and water catchment areas are valued through the building of schools and health facilities, we believe that this committee will give an encouraging report that is advantageous to the residents of the two counties," said Badilisha.

The Nyandarua governor said that although Nairobi County Water and Sewerage Company got 800 acres of land for the construction of the dam, some 12,800 acres of catchment area has been affected and that the county government cannot sustain the conservation efforts single handedly.

Governor Badilisha said that there was a need for the two counties to share the water resource for the benefit of their residents and they cannot sustain the conservation of the water catchment alone and required the support of relevant stakeholders.

Methu asked the two governors Sakaja to carry out negotiations and present a report on how best the two counties can share the natural resource for the mutual benefit of the constituents.