US $13m Bomet water supply plan in Kenya kicks off

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Kenya’s plan to expand clean water supply in Bomet County, at a cost of US $13m has commenced. Andrew Tuimur, the Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation made the announcement and said the project is government’s intention in availing clean drinking water to all Kenyans.

“We have commenced the process of availing clean drinking water to all Kenyans with a focus not only on urban, but also rural population,” said Andrew Tuimur.

The Bomet Water and Sanitation Company (BOMWASCO) currently runs 14 water supply schemes in the county with an ongoing expansion expected to encompass more regions. The project is part of a series of other initiatives being implemented countrywide as the government targets to boost food security and sanitation.

“It is important that farmers adopt modern farming techniques to maximise land use in the country with a special focus on irrigation so as to produce food crops all year round. The focus should be to satisfy the local and foreign market demands,” said Dr Tuimur.

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Project implementation

The Bomet, Longisa and Mulot water supply and sanitation project is being implemented by the Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency (LVSWWD) under the Kenya Towns Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation programme. It is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

LVSWWD recently funded the construction of Koita community water project in Bomet East constituency at a cost of US $36,000 that will benefit 1,000 people. The Agency has constructed Kabusare community water project in Bomet Central constituency at a tune of US $48,000 to benefit 2,000 residents in the region.

The project is expected to benefit 216,850 people in the region where water scarcity is a major problem, both in urban centres and homes. A high number of schools in the region are dependent on rain water as they have no access to pipelines while others are forced to source the commodity from local rivers.