Water scarcity persists in Northern Kenya as audit report unmasks rot at Northern Water Agency
Water shortage continues to be a nightmare in Northern Kenya despite billions of money that have been spent through various water companies and the Northern Water Works Development Agency( NWWDA) which is the state agency in charge of water and sanitation for the region.
This comes at a time when the Auditor General has shed light on the multi-billion allocations that go to the water agency.
Experts have at the same time opined that the water agency may be doing substandard work,thus not meeting the water demands for the drought prone region.
The 2022/2023 audit report shows that the agency had an approved allocation of Kshs.1,677,470,000 billion for the implementation of development projects.
Analysis of the project implementation status report and expenditure for the year revealed that some 89 projects with a budget of Kshs.860,850,883 billion were complete while 9 projects with a budget of Kshs.763,000,000 were ongoing.
The report shows that six projects with a budget of Kshs.53,619,117 had not started. Delays in the completion of projects, may have negatively affected service delivery.
However a spot-check by the times paints a totally different picture, with residents in some of the counties still begging and praying for state intervention over complete lack of water.
Some of the projects deemed complete are of poor quality and offer little reliability.
The report also reveals separate and deliberate delays in project completion by Northern Water Works Development Agency .
“The statement of receipts and payments reflects an amount of Kshs.3,431,628,644 for acquisition of non-financial assets which includes Kshs.3,296,374,116 for construction of civil works as disclosed in Note 6 to the financial statements. Included in this is an amount of Kshs.61,503,270 relating to drilling and equipping of four (4) boreholes in Wajir County,”
According to the auditor,the agency awarded the contract for a duration of six months from January, 2022 to July, 2022. Review of project documents revealed that the contract period was extended by 18 months with an expected completion date of 19 January, 2024. However, the Management did not provide evidence supporting the approval of this extension.
This points to possible corruption at the agency with a parliamentary oversight committee now expected to weigh in on wastefulness by water agencies that have been on the radar of investigative agencies.
In Wajir,residents are reeling from effects of delayed project Completion by Wajir Water and Sewerage Company which operates on behalf of NWWDA.
According to the audit,the statement of receipts and payments reflected an amount of Kshs.3,431,628,644 for acquisition of non-financial assets which includes Kshs.3,296,374,116 billion for construction of civil works . Included in this is an amount of Kshs.39,263,680 relating to the drilling of ten boreholes in Lanbib and Rifiet.
The works started on 15 August, 2022 for a period of 12 months to 15 August, 2023.
However, the progress report provided by the project coordinator revealed that the project was to start on 29 July, 2021 and end on 31 December, 2022.
“The resultant variances between the two documents was not explained,”
According to the work plan, the works should have been completed by 15th August, 2023. However, as at the time of the audit in October, 2023, and as per the progress report, the project was 56% complete.
The payments made to date out of the contract price of Kshs.39,263,680 was Kshs.22,070,655 equivalent to 56% but there was no evidence provided.
Northern Kenya problems
Northern Kenya has not seen a drop of rain in three years. In this dusty desert, there are only wild berries to eat.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years. At least 18 million people are facing extreme hunger.
Hunger affects 4 million people in Kenya, which is in the midst of an election campaign before a high-stakes presidential election on August 9.
In the northern desert regions, nearly 950,000 children under the age of five and 134,000 pregnant and lactating women are acutely malnourished, according to official figures from June.
In the three hardest-hit counties, including Marsabit, conditions border on starvation.
Marsabit County is prone to water shortages due to a number of factors, including drought where the county experiences prolonged droughts that cause water levels to drop to critical levels.
The county’s population is expected to grow by 3% per year, which will increase water demand by more than 35% by 2025. Most households in the county rely on unprotected shallow wells and boreholes, and only the piped water in Marsabit Town is treated. Water from other sources is often saline and untreated
In Garissa, the poor state of infrastructure and the collapsing Garissa sewage plant have plagued the community of Boulargi in Garissa County for the past six months without intervention.
Helpless residents have been appealing for help as untreated raw sewage from a broken sewer line and the collapsed treatment plant flood areas around the local school and residential zones, posing significant health risks.
The community has expressed frustration over the collapsed infrastructure and the neglect by the Garissa Water and Sewerage Company. The project, originally implemented by the Northern Water Services Board (now the Northern Water Works Development Agency) and funded by a Sh700 million grant from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, was handed over to the county without sufficient management capacity.
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