CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ENSURING CLEAN WATER, EFFICIENT SANITATION AND EXPANDING IRRIGATION

The Challenges:

Access to water is the key to survival; therefore, it is a basic requirement for survival and promotion of human dignity. Only 2% of Kenya’s total surface area is covered by water. A large area of the country is arid and semi-arid. Two-thirds of the country is covered by semi-desert or desert land.

As a result, only about 160,000 sq km of land, most of which is situated in the wetter southwest area, is suitable for the current population of approximately 33 million.

Future projections show that by 2025, per capita water availability will drop from current 650 cubic meters per year to 235 cubic meters as a result of population growth and climate change.

Lack of proper management structures at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation has forced it to return Kshs 3.63 billion to the Treasury in the last financial year, thus falling below its target of providing clean water.

Access to sanitation is a fundamental issue of human dignity. It is inextricably connected to all the Millennium Development Goals involving the environment, education, gender equality and the reduction of child mortality and poverty.

The sanitation coverage is low, estimated at less than 50%. This means that one out of two people do not have adequate sanitation. The urban slums mired in garbage and informal settlements have serious sanitation problems.

Approximately 80% of hospital attendance is due to preventable diseases and 50% of these diseases are water, sanitation and hygiene related.

The irrigation schemes and canals are in a desperate state and need rehabilitation and expansion.

Our Commitments:

We will ensure efficient and equitable delivery of clean water.

We will pursue the reform policies stated in the Water Act (2002) and ensure that funding and implementation are done in an equitable manner.

We will draw up a strategic plan for rural and urban sanitation and review them annually.

We will ensure proper disposal of solid wastes and encourage the adoption of recycling technologies.

We will invest heavily in sanitation facilities and increase its coverage so we can achieve the Millennium Development Goals for sanitation.

We will promote the building of decent sanitation facilities in all areas and encourage appropriate behaviour to foster a hygienic environment.

We will invest and expand irrigation schemes.

Your ODM Government will:

• Map the country to determine specific regional needs and introduce special measures into the policy to give priority on water provision to the historically marginalised areas.

• Ensure that 80% of Kenyans will have access to potable water by drilling boreholes, constructing gravity piped water supplies and expanding urban piped water supplies.

• Shorten the distances household members will have to walk to collect water.

• Strengthen key services of hydrology and hydrogeology in the Ministry.

• Build capacity at the Ministry to absorb the funds needed to enable the realization of the Millennium Development Goals on water.

• Commence a project of harvesting and storing rain water as twin solutions to the stemming problems like flooding as well as water shortages.

• Ensure that the water drainage systems in all urban areas are redesigned to facilitate the harvesting and recycling of rain water within these areas.

• Ensure that the water regulatory board is a strong, efficient, corruption-free institution that ensures effective delivery of service.

• Construct dams along rivers Nzoia, Yala and Nyando and identify other sites for smaller dams. Apart from facilitating irrigation, dam construction will solve the perennial problem of annual floods in Budalangi, Kano Plains and other flood hotspots in the country.

• Undertake a feasibility study for the construction of a 54km canal from River Tana to Garissa.

• Build a pipeline to transfer water from River Tana to the arid and semi-arid regions.

• Rehabilitate and expand the capacity of the Mzima water pipeline serving the coastal towns.

• Ensure waste management does not foul our clean water points.

• Develop economically and environmentally acceptable methods of waste disposal with recycling waste as an integral approach to waste management in cities and towns.

• Intensify public education efforts concerning waste disposal as a health issue.

• Provide adequate toilet and hand washing facilities in schools to reduce the incidence of sanitation related diseases and teach relevant skills to maintain personal hygiene.

• Increase the number of self-help community irrigation schemes and encourage building of earth dams.

• Rehabilitate and expand the major irrigation schemes.