The Lodwar Water and Sanitation Company (LOWASCO) has benefited from a three-day training of Board Members and its secretariat on best practices in water governance and execution of functions.
The training also provided an opportunity for consultations with Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB), the Water Services Providers Association (WASPA), and Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company (ELDOWAS) as key regulatory bodies and stakeholders.
The County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Water Services, who is also the chair of the Board, Faith Aletea, said the programme exposed the members to aspects of governance, compliance, and operational excellence.
“The programme is part of the broader strategy to facilitate the smooth transition of LOWASCO to the Turkana Urban Water and Sanitation Company pursuant to the County Water Act 2016 and the recommendations of the Senate to liquidate LOWASCO,” said CECM Aletea.
She reiterated the need to prioritise water supply as a universal human right as envisioned by Governor Lomorukai’s in his transformative agenda and expressed optimism in the board’s commitment to addressing the challenges impeding water access for the residents of Turkana.
“This engagement has opened our eyes to the potential legal bottlenecks that may derail the formation of urban and rural water supply utilities. It has provided valuable insights on how to achieve a risk-free outcome,” The Chair stated.
She said the Board intends to sustain the consultations beyond the meeting for further guidance when need arises.” Remarked CECM.
Speaking on behalf of the CEO of WASREB, John Muruka commended the Board for consulting with WASREB and said that the action underscored the seriousness of achieving the desired levels of service delivery for the benefit of the dynamic nature of water users in Turkana.
The CEO of WASPA, Anthony Ambugo, decried the increasing number of companies in the water sector facing governance challenges and lauded Turkana County for deliberately envisioning to institute risk-free measures.
According to Ambugo, poor governance has the potential to deny people access to clean water and safely managed sanitation services, with disastrous implications.
“In taking up this road, Turkana will not only get water governance issues right from the start; it will also benefit from reduced disease burdens often caused by poorly managed water service provision.” CEO Ambugo said.
The three-day meeting was facilitated by Ecovest Consultants led by Isha Dunga, the CEO of the Organisation.
The Board Members present included Joseph Loboche, Ruth Emanikor (County Solicitor), Peter Lomorukai (Chief Officer, Preventive and Promotive Health), Cathra Abdi (Chief Officer, Municipalities and Urban Areas Management), Simon Etom (Chief Officer, Water Services) and Esther Lokitoe (MD, Lowasco).
Paul Lotum (Director, Water Services), Chris Locheria (Director, Administration), Tito Ochieng (Water Engineer), Francis Adome (Head,Technical Operations, LOWASCO), Vitalis Ogombe (Secretariat), and Joan Sigira (LOWASCO) also attended the training.
By Peter Gitonga
