Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala has urged the government to prioritize dredging of River Nzoia next year with a view to provide a permanent solution to the perennial floods in the area.
Speaking during Bunyala Cutural Sports Festival at Marenga beach on Tuesday, Wanjala noted that rivers in the flood prone areas had not been desilted since time immemorial.
“Most of the rivers are silted at the mouth hence preventing water from flowing into the lake,” he said, adding that excess water flows into the homesteads.
He thanked the government for coming up with the Lower Nzoia Irrigation project and constructing permanent dykes but advocated for dredging as a lasting solution to floods.
“If dredging is not done then the river will break its bank and in the process even the irrigation infrastructure that has been put in place will be destroyed,” he said.
Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa noted that backflow of water from Lake Victoria was the main cause of floods in Budalangi.
Wamalwa promised the local residents that the dredging machine will brought to Budalangi immediately after the completion of Kisumu port.
He further pointed out that River Nyando suffers a similar problem of backflow, adding that dredging will provide a lasting solution to flood problem.
“This will not only help Kisumu County but all other counties that are prone to floods,” he said.
The Orange Democratic leader Raila Odinga stated that the government will soon begin de-siltation exercise in Rivers within flood prone areas as a permanent solution to the menace.
By Salome Alwanda
