Garissa Deputy Governor, Abdi Dagane has urged the county assembly to fast track the water bill that is meant to regulate water usage in both rural and urban centres in the county.
Speaking to the press on Friday, after inspecting and officially opening renovated elevated water tanks in Bulla Quba, Dagane said that the bill which was meant to curb illegal water connections, water billing and penalties for defaulters among others was long overdue.
The deputy governor said the bill that is being drafted by the executive will be ready within the two months and will go a long way in streamlining water management in the county.
“For a long time we had issues with the manner in which the water sector is run that has led to residents suffering for lack of water, thanks to gaps in the sector,” Dagane said.
“This is what we want to correct going forward. This is a crucial area that cannot be ignored given that water provision for citizens is a right and not a privilege,” he added.
His sentiments comes barely a month after Garissa Water and Sewerage Company (GAWASCO) said it was losing over sh. 25 million monthly through illegal water connections, corruption and failure by some residents to pay for water bills among other challenges.
Dagane said that the bill will address all these issues.
“I want to fore-warn those residents who have made it a habit of manipulating institutions for their selfish gains that those days are long gone,” he said.
“Now that we have connected 90 percent of Garissa town residents to clean and safe drinking water, we want to embark on a programme to ensure the same services are available at all the sub-county headquarters to start with,” he noted.
Nominated MCA, Amran Mohamed said the members are ready to work with the executive to ensure service delivery in key sectors such as water, health and infrastructure are not compromised.
“I am appealing to the residents to work closely with both the executive and the assembly because it’s only by doing so that we will as a people make progress,” Amran said.
By Jacob Songok
