The government has allocated Sh48 million to be used in putting up a water pan and borehole in Tana River county to alleviate the plight of pastoralists in the arid county.
Speaking Tuesday at Kone village, the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) National Drought Management Authority, Colonel (Rtd) Hared Adan said the water pan will not only benefit the communities around Kone but also residents in counties like Wajir, Garissa.
Rtd Col Adan said the project will also help reduce water conflicts during drought seasons when conflicts over resources usually erupt between human beings and herders over the scarce water available.
“We want to classify the dam as a strategic dam because it will provide water for locals and other people outside Tana River County,” Col Adan said.
The NDMA CEO urged residents of Kone Village to avoid misuse of the water and to take care of the project since it is for their own good and benefit.
He asked them to follow the rules and the regulations that will be put up to safeguard the use of the dam.
Speaking at the same function, the chairman of the National Drought Management Authority Mr Shallow Yahya said the project involves the renovation of the two boreholes and the construction of a water dam of about 460,000 cubic-metres at a cost of about Sh48 million.
Yahya also said solar panels will be installed to pump water into the boreholes so that both residents and the animals can benefit from the facility.
He pledged that NDMA will construct many more water pans in order to support pastoralists from different communities adding the main purpose of the project is to help reduce lack of water especially during drought period.
Residents of the area expressed gratitude saying that the boreholes constructed are expected to help reduce conflicts with wild animals since they are neighbors to the National Park.
By Noel Gloria and Simon Guruba
