Members of the Nyandarua County Assembly have vowed to lead residents in closing all outlets of Sasumuwa Dam and Aberdare Forests, until the national government amicably settles the contentious revenue sharing formula.
Led by Njambini- Kiburu Ward MCA Kiiru Gachomba, the MCAs petitioned the Senate to consider pushing for a revenue sharing formula that would see the county get over Sh300 million annually from Nairobi Water and Sanitation Company, being 10 percent of proceeds from it’s water resource.
The leaders, who gave the national government a seven-day ultimatum to act on the matter, said they will erect road barriers to Aberdare Forest and gate-valves on Sasumuwa and Konoike Dams, to push for a share of the proceeds from the sale of timber and water to be channeled to the County government.
MCAs regretted that Nyandarua residents cannot access the commodity that is right at their door steps since outlets meant to benefit the locals have since been sealed off and all waters directly channeled to Nairobi, Nakuru and Baringo Counties.
“As a mother, how would I cook food and serve my neighbours children before i serve my own? That is what Sasumuwa is doing. Just like Turkana and Narok Counties benefit from their oil and Masai Mara, we demand a share of proceeds from the water,” regretted Lucy Githinji.
The leaders further want the management of the dams and water service companies to also pay land rates to the county government for the more than 31, 000 acres of land that Sasumuwa Dam sits on. Konoike dam, as well as Aberdare Forest too have taken a substantial amount of land that denied the county revenue.
“We demand that the service providers managing these resources (Aberdare Forest, Sasumuwa and Konoike dams) pay for accrued land rates and arrears thereof,” added Gachomba regretting that the residents were only involved in putting out forest fires and have no water channeled to them for domestic use.
Gachomba lamented that roads surrounding the dams and connecting the forests have also been damaged by the trucks ferrying timber out of the forest, making the county to incur huge costs in rehabilitating them.
“If we have laws that prohibit us from using the water from Sasumuwa, then we have to change them, we cannot stand another drought, famine and need for relief food, when we have these dams,” noted Deputy Speaker Samuel Chege Gathirimu, regretting that residents of Nairobi county could afford a shower, while the locals bathed in the river.
Gathirimu lamented that the roads in Kinangop ward were badly damaged by trucks ferrying timber in Geta forest, noting that a clause requiring the de-foresters to upgrade the roads before they leave the forest, be included in their tender documents.
“All Nairobi Water Company has done is donate 150 water tanks to our people, translating to about a million shillings and sourced tree seedlings that our people were tasked to plant and care for before they are harvested to no gain. This is pure colonization from the company,” protested Kamau Kungu.
The MCAs also poked holes in the location of the envisaged Kinja and Malewa dams, noting that they were strategically placed to benefit residents of Nakuru County and not the locals.
Speaker Stephen Waiganjo, confirmed from the budget committee that if the county was allowed to own and manage the dams, then it would only require a handful to cover it’s budgetary needs that now stand at Sh6 billion.
Residents of Nyandarua County have for decades decried lack of clean-piped water for domestic use, with residents relying on household waterpans, rivers, dams and boreholes.
Proposals to construct Pesi, Malewa and Kinja Dams that were to afford the residents water, have never taken off, six years on with the MCAs feeling shortchanged in their 10-year quest to have the revenue shared.
