Press statement for Monday 12th January 2015. I wish to thank you all members of the press for coming for this press conference at which I would like to address a few local and national issues. I would like to start by wishing each one of you a very happy new year and to thank you for the very good work you have continued to do in addressing the issues emerging out of this county over the time, and urge you to continue with the same vigour in this new year. The following are the issues I would like to address this morning: EDUCATION. I note that in last years KCPE results, we were able to attain a mean score of 247 up from the 240 that we had scored in the previous year. This may not seem like much to some people but for my part, I appreciate very much the concerted effort we all made to encourage the pupils and to instill in them the need for academic excellence. Going forward, I am confident that we shall continue to see an upward trend which will in a few years time bring our county to where it truly belongs, at the top. I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the stake holders and particularly the pupils and their teachers for this marked improvement. I would also like to single out Kigumo sub-county as one that did very well coming from the back to lead in the county. To the Education Officer and his team, please accept my congratulations. I encourage the spirit and wind of competition now blowing in our county. In this new year, I urge all the players to join hands working together for the betterment of of the education of our children which has taken a beating over the last few years. To all the teachers, pupils and parents, please accept my sincere congratulations and continue with the good work. For my part, I pledge my full and undivided support towards the improvement of our education standards. In the same vein, I wish to call upon the leadership of the teaching fraternity in the country to embrace dialogue with the national government with a view to ending the current teachers strike. I appreciate that a good number of the teachers on strike are themselves parents of children in our schools. Please take into account the welfare of the children and let dialogue be the guiding light in the matter. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT There is the raging debate now going on in our county regarding the proposed extraction of water from the rivers Maragua, Irati and Gikigie to supply the Nairobi City County. The County Assembly has deliberated on this issue and resolved that any further dealings on the matter must be shelved until the same is renegotiated. There is the very real fear that Muranga county could lose an important water resource and the county Assembly fears that the proposed mode of extraction could lead to the drying up of the rivers and therefore affect an already water insufficient region. In the very first instance, I would like to thank the county assembly for the initiative taken and for bringing this very important issue to the public domain and particularly because the Athi Water Services Board does not appear to have done anything towards public awareness nor was there any public participation before such an important decision as to extract water from Muranga for the benefit of another county was taken. I would also like to thank the Speaker of the county assembly for offering to organize a stakeholders meeting to look further into this matter. I know that Athi Water Services Board did have a meeting with Muranga Church leaders on Friday 9th January at which I understand there were more questions than answers. This tells me that the works on this project must be stopped and that there needs to be total agreement first. In other circles, there has been the argument that before the project is commenced, the Nairobi City County and or the Athi Water Services Board must agree to pay to the Muranga County at least one shilling per litre of water leaving Muranga for Nairobi. Even as I welcome the debate and appreciate any attempt so far at public participation, my view about the water debate is radically different. It is not about our being paid a shilling or whatever other sum of money for our water. It is about empowerment, it is about the creation of wealth for our people, and it is not about hand outs which I consider the proposed charge of one shilling per litre to be as I do not know its scientific basis. Nor is it about corporate social responsibility whereby the Athi Water Services Board sinks one or two boreholes in Muranga or builds a dispensary. It is about long term solutions. In short, it is about what is best for the people of Muranga. It is about creating a long term commercial enterprise that will help Muranga County create much more wealth for its citizens using the one most important resource that we have, water. Consequently, I would like to look at the whole situation from a commercial point of view. In the very first place and before anything at all is done towards the extraction of the water by tunneling it or otherwise from any or all the three rivers mentioned, there must be conclusive evidence from both an environmental and scientific point of view that such extraction will not affect the normal flow of the rivers, nor the livelihoods of the people downstream who depend on them. This is critical because as a county we are interested in enhancing the use of these rivers for irrigation to improve on our food security. These rivers among others are the lifelines of virtually the whole population of Muranga County where only 30% of the residents have access to improved sources of water with the rest relying on unimproved sources. Once the foregoing is satisfied, then we must ask the question, why should Athi Water Services Board or even Nairobi County develop the facility and not us as a county? After all, the water resource lies within our county, our county has the same status as Nairobi and indeed forms part of the Nairobi Metropolis. In years to come, we shall develop our own cities which will need sufficient supply of water. Why not deal with these issues today instead of waiting to negotiate for some of our own water from Nairobi county in the future. Today just as an example, the people of Ndakaini derive no benefit from the dam that supplies Nairobi with 75% of its water needs! The simple reason in my view is that there was no public participation when the dam was built. It must have been felt then that compulsory acquisition of peoples land was sufficient compensation. We all know better today. The the people of Ndakaini did not form part of the equation even as the water was being extracted from their backyard. Never mind that they are the custodians of the forest which gives rise to the river Thika. I doubt that Muranga County can presently negotiate anything other than corporate social responsibility as pertains to Ndakaini water and even then, not from a point of strength. In the current constitutional dispensation with devolution taking centre stage we should not agree to repeat the mistake. County goverments have the responsibility to provide water and sanitation services to its people under section 11 of Part 2 of the Fourth Schedule of our constitution. This is why the Nairobi City County is working so hard to see how it can extract water from Muranga County to satisfy its needs. The question is, what are we ourselves doing about the same needs and the relevant rivers lie in our county? Are we satisfied with a shilling per litre, and on what is the charge based? What vision do we have for our county? My proposal would be to create a legal entity by way of a joint venture between the City County of Nairobi and the Muranga County whereby the two will jointly develop the concept, create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which would borrow money from the World Bank or any other such body to develop the water sources that will then supply the water to Nairobi, Muranga County and or any other consumers. The SPV jointly owned as aforesaid would sell the water to Nairobi mainly and to the future cities in Muranga and or such other entities. As in any other form of business, the profits and losses would be shared equitably by the two counties. In my considered opinion, only in this way would the water resource benefit Muranga County in the long run. As a county, we should take the stand that no more action should be taken in furtherance of the proposed project until a concrete and binding agreement has been reached. Towards this end, a technical team from both counties and Athi Water Services Board needs to be formed as a matter of urgency to work out the modalities towards creation of the SPV and the roadmap thereafter. If this concept for any reason howsoever is not acceptable to the Nairobi City County, or for that matter to Athi Water Services Board, then Muranga County must go it alone. We shall develop the facility and sell any excess water to any willing buyer including Nairobi. It should be noted that Muranga currently supplies Nairobi with about 75%of its water needs. Nairobi creates 60% of the national GDP. What part does the 75% water supply play in the 60% national GDP? What does Muranga have to show for playing such a major role in helping run the industries in Nairobi. I dare say nothing and conclude that this is not a mistake we can afford to repeat. DUALIZATION OF KENOL-SAGANA-MARUA ROAD It is common knowledge now that the design work for the Kenol-Sagana-Marua road is complete. It appears that what is now remaining is the signing of the financial agreement and the publication of the tender. This is the road known as A2, the road that is proposed to be dualized. It is also common knowledge that no one from Muranga was asked whether the new proposed road should bypass Muranga town! Indeed, none of us knew what the plans were until after a lot of enquiries. In the meantime and as has been done for ages, the Kenol-Muranga road is being repaired.This is the road now known as C71. And these are the same repairs that have never lasted for any season because the work has always been done haphazardly, as if in disrespect of the people the road is meant to serve. Kenol-Muranga road has been an eye sore since time immemorial and a numerable number of people have lost their lives in the stretch. We as the Muranga people are asking again, why are we being bypassed, what is the logic and what will be the effect of this on the economy of Muranga County? Muranga town is the capital of the County of Muranga. For many years, the road leading to Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Embu, Meru and beyond was through Muranga town. Indeed, even today, people travelling to Othaya and Mukurweini both in Nyeri County find the road through Muranga town to be much closer and convenient. The distance from Kenol to Sagana via Muranga town is much shorter than that from Kenol to Sagana. And in any case, most of this road, that is Kenol Sagana falls within the Muranga County. There is no major town or even shopping centre between Kenol and Sagana, but the capital of Muranga County lies in between if one follows the Kenol-Muranga-Sagana route. So what is the logic of bypassing Muranga town particularly at this time when the mood of the nation is to grow the county economies with a view to making devolution a reality. How are we going to develop the economy of our county which falls within the Nairobi Metropolitan area in the absence of important linkages like the road in question? My request to the national government is that it should rethink the design of the road and see to it that the same passes through Muranga town. This way, Muranga, Sagana (read Kirinyaga county) and Marua in Nyeri County will be connected and this will only help to grow the economies. There cannot be any logical argument why C71 cannot be designated A2 from Kenol to Sagana if that is indeed an issue. Neither can there be any logic in bypassing Muranga town unless there is a concerted effort to kill the capital and therefore the county. I thank you ladies and gentlemen. Senator Kembi-Gitura, MGH, MP. Muranga County. 12th January 2015
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 10:26:32 +0000