The county government of Garissa has enacted the County water management framework 2018 in a bid to enhance water service delivery in the area.
According to the outgoing water and irrigation CEC, Issa Oyow the framework is meant to create a conducive and enabling environment in the management of the water sector.
Issa said the bill would also address the issue of water governance, supply and challenges that has bedeviled the sector for decades.
The CEC said the bill comprise of the Garissa County Water Management act 2018, Water Policy, Water strategy and a 10-year sector plan.
He said the county government has made great strides in the provision of water during the past three years that has seen access to water jump from 45 per cent to 78 per cent across the county.
Issa who has been moved to the finance docket said among notable achievement during his tenure include drilling, equipping and rehabilitation of 86 boreholes and improvement of general water coverage.
He also cited the establishment of Garissa Rural Water and Sewerage Company (GARWASCO), a utility company that will manage and maintain all rural water supplies in the County as milestone achievement.
The CEC said the county government has also purchased seven new water trucks one for each the sub-counties to enhance water trucking during dry spell and water supply to far flung rural areas.
Other achievement include the purchased of three vehicles to support in the operations of the department and the utility companies.
The CEC spoke of the construction of Maji House that has started adding that ‘the office will house the staff of the department and the two utility companies’.
Besides these achievements, the department has established a robust Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) coordination forum that hosts more than 10 active water partners.
Incoming water CEC Abdi Omar lauded the reforms in the water sector noting that with the new laws in place, the sector ‘will even make more strides in the coming days, months and years’.
“As a department we shall focus more in the rural areas where perennial water shortage remain a challenge due to the reoccurring droughts,” he said.
By Jacob Songok
