Kenyans have been urged to assist the government in generating more wealth to ensure a bigger cake to be shared by all citizens.
The chairman of Tana Water Works Development Agency (TWWDA) Joseph M’Eruaki has said its the high time Kenyans stopped talking about mere sharing of the cake, but simply ask themselves, why can’t we bake a bigger cake where everybody can get a piece?
M’Eruaki was speaking at TWWDA offices in Nyeri town Friday during the handing over of eight exhausters valued at Sh76.3 million to five water company providers operating in its area of jurisdiction.
The chairman said people should stop complaining and demanding extra resources from the national government, but instead they should initiate income generating programme to supplement efforts by the state.
For instance, what are the counties doing to generate more revenue so that we can have a bigger cake at the national level?” he posed.
During the occasion, M’Eruaki urged counties that benefited from the exhausters to make good use of them for and offer residents better sanitation services.
The water service providers that received the exhausters included Meru Water and Sewerage Services, Nithi Water and Sanitation Company, Kirinyaga Water and Sanitation Company, Mandera Water and Sanitation Company and Marsabit Water and Sanitation Company.
M’Eruaki revealed that the exhausters were procured under the National Programme of Kenya Towns Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation funded by the Kenya government and the African Development Bank.
“This programme is designed to improve access, quality, availability and sustainability of water supply in 19 towns and wastewater management services in 17 towns across the country,” the chairman said.
Under the programme, TWWDA is implementing six projects at a cost of Sh 9.12 billion. The projects are Kerugoya-Kutus water Supply and sanitation, Chuka water supply and sanitation, Chogoria water supply and sanitation, Meru sewerage, Marsabit water supply and sanitation and Mandera water and sanitation.
The Agency is also implementing four other last mile connectivity projects, all scheduled for completion by November this year.
It is expected that by then a population of about 1.098 million citizens in the targeted region will be supplied with water and about 300,000 others get sewerage services.
M’Eruaki noted that provision of sanitation services is an enabler in the realization of the president’s Big Four Agenda and it is one of the goals in the national Vision 2030.
Central region Commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga who graced the occasion noted that there has been massive growth of towns since the advent of devolution, which called for increased water supply and sanitation services.
By Mwangi Gaitha
