Over 15, 000 people in Suswa ward of Narok East Sub County are set to benefit from a Sh. 50 million water project funded through equalisation funds.
The Narok County Monitoring and Evaluation Committee that visited the project yesterday was satisfied with the project progress as 90 percent of the work was complete a year after the work began.
The committee led by Narok County Commissioner (CC), George Natembeya and a representative from the Presidential Delivery Unit, Ms. Khadija Mohammed said once complete, the water project will benefit residents from Narasha, Olenyito and Olasiti areas who trek long distances in search of water.
“Our happiness is to see such a viable project thriving and that many residents will benefit from it once completed. We are satisfied that the water drilled from the boreholes is pumped to the tanks and will be distributed to the locals so that they get water near their homes,” said Mr.Natembeya.
The residents commended the project saying it will go a long way in boosting their livelihoods as the time wasted in
looking for water will be used for other economic activities.
“We are glad that the government considered us in putting up such a water project because we trek for over five kilometre s with our donkeys to search for water. Now we will access water for our domestic use and animals just a few meters from our houses,” said Ms. Joan Reson a resident of Suswa.
The Equalisation Fund was established by the 2010 Constitution to address historical marginalization and unequal development across the country and the distribution is based on criterion determined by the Commission for Revenue Allocation’s (CRA).
The biggest beneficiaries in the current financial year are West Pokot, Turkana and Narok counties according to CRA analysis of new policy.
The three counties have the highest proportion of marginalized areas, according to a new grading policy by the commission aimed at improving basic services that relate to water, health, roads and electricity in these areas.
West Pokot has the highest number of marginalized areas at 149, followed by Turkana, 144 and Narok 112, data by the CRA showed.
By Ann Salaton
