Residents of Gatanga Sub-county in Murang’a will be forced to pay more for water, if a proposal by a local water company to increase water rates, sails through.
Gatanga Water and Sanitation Company (Gatawasco), has written to the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB), seeking leave to raise its charges to generate more returns, to expand its infrastructure.
Gatawasco’s proposal indicates that the new tariffs will be effective from July this year to 2029, explaining that it plans to undertake a Sh41 million investment that will improve its service delivery in the period.
The water firm, which generally serves rural homesteads, proposes that the minimum water charges for zero to six units of water, be charged at Sh120 up from Sh33.
Domestic consumers who use between seven to 20 units of water currently, pay Sh50 and will now be required to pay Sh135, should the new charges be adopted.
Charges for 21 to 50 units will rise from Sh65 to Sh150, and consumer rates for 51 to 100 units will increase from Sh80 to Sh165, while 101 to 300 units will be charged Sh180 up from Sh100 while the rates for over 300 units of water will be charged Sh190 up from Sh130.
Murang’a County Assembly’s Deputy Speaker, Moses Gachui, has termed the new charges outrageous, saying they will make the lives of the residents, majority of whom are small-scale farmers suffer.
On Thursday, Gachui, speaking at Kihumbu-ini market, stated that the Company operates in a rural area and that the financial status of most residents, cannot allow them to pay more for water.
Gachui who is also Kihumbu-ini Member of the County Assembly (MCA), said the current water coverage for Gatanga Sub-county is about 70 percent and that the Company should first focus on connecting all homes, before raising the charges.
“It has been brought to my attention that the Company’s Board is attempting to review the tariffs upward without following the due process… and thus willingly attempting to evade the procedure, as set out by the law,”Gachui lamented.
The proposals, he noted, will lead to many of the homes being disconnected from the supply, denying them their constitutional right to basic needs.
Gachui said most residents are already grappling with the hard economic times and will be unable to pay the new charges.
The Deputy Speaker has called for elaborate public participation to allow residents to give their input before the new charges are effected, saying the Company should have started by involving consumers before writing to WASREB.
“We request that the proposals be suspended until such a time that the economic environment will allow people to pay more,” he said, adding that the company should not be geared towards making profits as it is a public entity.
“An average home that has cows consumes between nine and 20 units, and will now be paying three times what they have been paying,” Gachui further said.
Margaret Waithera, a resident of Gaikamba village said the company rations its water supply and that they only get a consistent supply during rains.
This, she said, is despite the fact that the company continually imposes monthly charges, saying higher charges will be intolerable, and will force them to start fetching the commodity from rivers.
“This will hit elderly women even more. How will they be able to pay more yet they are already struggling?” she wondered.
By Anita Omwenga and Bernard Munyao
