Governors from the coastal region want the Coast Water Works Development Agency (CWWDA) to woo investors so as to close the existing financing gap.
This was after a major burst occurred along Mzima Pipeline inside Tsavo National Park early May. It took the repair crew three days of working frantically to mend the tear and restore flow to thousands of parched homesteads.
This latest burst is among several other pipe-breakage incidents that have been occurring for years. The frequency of bursts has been so high that debates over the condition of the 66-years pipe expected to supply water to the burgeoning population in the coastal region are hitting panic levels.
“We have water scarcity and these normalized bursts have made the situation worse. People and livestock are suffering. Something permanent needs to be done,” says Taita-Taveta Governor Andrew Mwadime.
In the past, there were suspicions that the abnormally high number of bursts were deliberate acts of sabotage by illegal herders inside the park who wanted water for their livestock. There were also reports that elephants in the park broke exposed sections of the fossilized pipe.
However, coast leaders agree that the Mzima Pipeline, first constructed in 1957, has become an inefficient and dilapidated water infrastructure in need of total overhauling. Mzima is the only major water source serving four counties on the coast namely Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale and Taita-Taveta.
Speaking in Voi during a two-day water symposium for Coast counties held under the economic bloc of Jumuiya Ya Kaunti Za Pwani (JKP), Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir says Mzima Pipeline is antiquated and cannot be expected to effectively meet the surging water demands for Coast region.
“Mzima pipeline is a very old infrastructure prone to burst and breakages. As Coast counties, there is an urgent need to rethink innovative ways of increasing our people’s access to water,” he said.
He called for rethinking of water-provision strategies to enhance accessibility of the commodity to over four million people in the Coast region. He stated that desalination of ocean water was not viable due to the prohibitively high-power bills associated with the operation.
One major proposal adopted by the governors was on coordinated efforts to jointly push for privatization of Coast Water Works Development Agency (CWWDA); a state-corporation that manages bulk-water systems in coast.
Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro said CWWDA has been managing the bulk-water system for decades yet the water challenges persisted. This called into question the parastatal’s capacity to seal the financing gaps and resolve the water crisis.
Mung’aro, who is also the chair of JKP, said privatization of the state corporation and handing it over to private investors would be the magic bullet to solve decades-old water challenges bedeviling coastal counties for years.
He stated that privatization entailed commercialization of the water sector to make it attractive for investors. It would lead to injection of vast capital resources that the government lacked and allow major overhaul of ancient water systems, introduction of innovative technology in water distribution systems and efficiency in management of power.
“We need to embrace the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in privatizing the Coast Water Works Development Agency to make it attractive to investors. The billions required to overhaul the system and meet the demand of water for over four million residents will be availed by the investor who will manage the agency,” said the governor.
Other governors in the symposium who endorsed the idea include Andrew Mwadime, Taita-Taveta; Abdulswamad Nassir; Mombasa and Issa Timmany of Lamu. Kwale and Tana-River counties had sent representatives and officials of water providers.
Other stakeholders in the meeting included Nature Kenya, Kenya Innovative Finance Facility for Water (KIFFWA), and Children Investment Fund Foundation amongst others.
Lamu Governor Issa Timamy said there was a need for the agency to extend its water services to Lamu. He stated that the sources of water for Lamu were inadequate.
CWWDA Board Chair Dr. Daniel Mwaringa said the agency was committed to meeting the water needs of the coastal region. He added funding has been an issue but with donors and other partners coming on board, the agency would implement its water masterplan including commission of extra water sources to improve on supply.
“We are fully committed to supplying water to people in all six counties. Though the donor funding remains inadequate, we are keen on forging partnerships in financing projects that will see daily water output increase,” he said.
Dr. Mwaringa stated that the Coast region had a daily water demand of 446,186 cubic meters against a water production capacity of 250, 584 cubic meters. He said that the agency was supplying 55.3 per cent of the total coast population with piped water translating to 2.4 million people against an estimated coast region population of 4.1 million.
To privatize Coast Water Works Development Agency, a parastatal under the Ministry of water, will require amendment of the Parastatal Water Act of 2016 which created the agency.
Currently, CWWDA is managing four water supply systems including Marere, Mzima, Tiwi Boreholes and Baricho. The four systems have a total daily production of 170,000 cubic meters of water.
Marere is the oldest and was developed in 1923. It has a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters. Mzima was developed in 1957 while Tiwi boreholes were done in 1975. The two have a production capacity of 40,000 and 10,000 cubic meters respectively. Baricho, developed in 1980, has the highest production of 110,000 cubic meters daily.
According to financial estimates by CWWDA, the agency requires Sh. 314 billion to implement master plans touching on bulk water, wastewater, water distribution and drought mitigation by 2035 and 2040. Development of the Mzima 11 water project with an estimated capacity of 65,000 cubic meters will require Sh. 40 billion.
The agency has however cited the Sh 18-billion Mwache Dam as the ultimate game changer for water provision in the Coast region.
With an estimated production of 186,000 cubic meters daily, Mwache Dam will become the source with the highest water production to date. This supply will see the volumes given to the four counties of Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale and Taita-Taveta increase significantly.
Mombasa County will receive 181,000 cubic meters of water from the current 72,000 cubic meters while Kilifi’s supply will increase from 67,000 cubic meters to 94,000. Kwale County will get 44,000 cubic meters from the current 17,000 cubic meters while Taita-Taveta County will get 27,000 cubic meters from the current 14,000.
By Wagema Mwangi
