Governor Waiguru pledges Ksh. 9 million to complete stalled water project

Kirinyaga County Governor Anne Waiguru has pledged to allocate Ksh. 9 million towards the completion of a stalled water project in Kirinyaga Central sub-county. Mbeti B Water project that is estimated to cost Ksh. 42 million at completion has a deficit of Ksh. 20 million.

Speaking during the project’s stakeholders meeting held on at Thaita Coffee Factory, the governor said that once the project is completed, it will benefit about 3,000 homesteads. She said that it will mark a great milestone towards provision of clean water for domestic and minor irrigation to the beneficiairies. “This project indeed goes a long way in complementing the county government efforts in achieving the goals of having every of our homesteads connected with water.” She said. She added that it was also in line with the county government’s vision of ensuring access to clean water as way of improving the hygienic standards and enhancing agricultural production which plays a critical role in the county’s development agenda.

The governor added that so far, the county government has spent Ksh. 3 million in the project, money that went into buying and installing pipes and it will continue partnering with other stakeholders to ensure successful completion. This project will cover Thaita and Mbeti sub-locations and parts of Kimande sub-loction whose need for water is not met by current sources which include Mukengeria, Kandakame, Kangaita steams. The govenror said that over the years, her administration has implemented many lifechanging water projects across the county.

The projects have involved installation of water pipes and fittings, drilling and equipping of boreholes, construction of water intakes and procurement of water tanks. “We have so far commissioned around 60 water projects including Mwea Makima, Kiagikiki, Kiandegwa and also distributed water tanks to over 1,000 homesteads”, she said, adding that piped water connectivity has improved from 62 percent to the current 70 percent.

Some of the water projects that the governor enumerated included Giakairegi, Kathaka, Kinyako as well as Kirima and Kiamuthambi boreholes in Kirinyaga Central, Kithiriti-Musangondi irrigation water projet and Kiandegwa, Ria Gicheru, Togonye, Kitheru, Rurii and Kiorugari in Mwea, Mukui, Sagana and Mung’etho water projects and Kiburu and Kamoro borehole projects in Mwea. In Gichugu constituency, Ngariama, Njukiini and Kiagikiki projects are among those completed.

The stakeholders meeting was attended by among others the Leader of Majority at the County Assembly, Kamau Murango.