Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Zachary Mwangi Njeru has restated that the Government is mapping out 100 mega dams and 1,000 small and medium dams and will also rehabilitate the existing social and economy dams in order to harvest water for the future and help stem the raging floods that have pounded the country in the last few weeks.
Mr Njeru divulged that out of the 100 proposed mega dams, 34 of them have already been earmarked for development, adding that the funding of the projects will be done through Public / Private Partnership (PPP) and the Government will be engaging various private organisations to help fund the projects.
The CS admitted that most dams in the country are full and spilling at this time but the Government is taking precaution by giving advisories to those living in low lands where necessary.
“Let’s take precaution and move to safety to save lives when we get these advisories and take shelter from the current flooding,” Njeru appealed to Kenyans, adding that the Government was using the whole Government approach in assessing and handling the ongoing flood disaster in order to ensure minimum loss of lives and property.
Njeru was speaking in Maai -Mahiu in Naivasha on Friday when he visited the victims of last Monday`s flooding in the area and brought them some food and non-food items for support.
Briefing the CS and his team, Nakuru County Commissioner Lyford Kibaara said so far, the death toll from the tragedy now stands at 52 people but over 26 people are still missing since Monday`s tragedy.
The tragedy occurred in the wee hours of Monday morning after a seasonal dam on the upper part of the Kijabe hills burst its banks, sending gallons of flash flood water gushing downstream and decimating hundreds of homes in the Mai Mahiu area of Naivasha.
About 112 people were hospitalised in different hospitals after the incident, with only 32 still admitted to date. A total of 120 households who are being accommodated at Ngeya Girls Secondary School which has been acting as a temporary shelter will be moved by this weekend to a different location in order to allow the school management to prepare for reopening of schools to be announced at a future date after Government postponed it from next Monday in order to assess the flood situation.
Mr Kibaara said hundreds of rescued victims continue to receive medical attention at the health facilities in the area with government, church, and private counsellors deployed to offer psychosocial support to affected family members.
Over 200 people have been confirmed dead in the floods around the country with over 170,000 others displaced and many missing in 33 affected counties and the situation is still looking grim as the Meteorology department warns of more rain and the marauding cyclone Hidaya said to be approaching the Kenyan Coast from the South.
The Culture Director of the Kiama Council of Elders from Mount Kenya Kigochi Waimiri advised Kenyans to take advisories being given by experts about the weather very seriously in order to avoid loss of lives. His team also brought with them lorry loads of assorted food items, mostly fresh farm produce and non-food items to help the victims of Mai –Mahiu floods.
By Mabel Keya – Shikuku
