Construction of the Sh 20bn Mwache dam project is set to stall over land dispute between residents and National Land Commission Kenya (NLC). Led by Kwale County Women Representative Zulekha Hassan, Furugani residents in Kinango Constituency are now petitioning President Uhuru Kenyatta to halt the land compensation package until the matter is resolved.
Hassan is urging the Head of State to intervene as she accuses the NLC trying to shortage her residents in terms of proper land compensation rates for their land, houses, trees and crops. Speaking when she led a protest against the compensation package of Ksh 350,000 per acre of the land which is far below the market value, Zulekha said there are a lot of inconveniences for the residents to vacate the land and relocate to a new site with the little money being offered by the government.
Juma Ndaro who represented the residents drawn from 24 villages lashed out at the government for short-changing them in the compensation package arguing it was not what they had expected. He said the project is in line with the government’s Big Four Agenda program and urged President Kenyatta to take the matter seriously and intervene.
“We are ready to have a roundtable talk with the government to negotiate on the package as we will not accept what they want to pay us which is below the market value of the land,” said Mr Ndaro.
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Mwache multi-purpose dam
The Mwache multi-purpose dam development project is a priority investment by the Government as a flagship project of Vision 2030. The project was under the portfolio of the former Ministry of Regional Development Authorities (MoRDA) through the Coast Development Authority (CDA) working in partnership with Coast Water Services Board (CWSB).
The project which was first mulled by CDA in 1995 has been delayed due to lack of funding. But now plans to begin construction were given fresh impetus when the government secured the required funding. Population growth and growing demand for precious water resources also accelerated the construction of the mega-dam.
The project is being co-funded by the World Bank and the Government of Kenya to the tune of Sh 20bn. The dam site is located across the Mwache River at the Fulugani village, Kwale County, about 22 km west of the city of Mombasa. The Coast Water Supply Master Plan identified the dam as the preferential, viable, and necessary long-term option for water supply to Mombasa and Kwale counties.
The dam is meant to harness floodwaters from Mwache River basin in Kinango Sub County and help tackle persistent water shortages in the coastal region. The Mwache Dam will be an 87.5 meter-tall concrete gravity dyke, impounding 118 million cubic meters for water supply and irrigation and is expected to boost the water supply for Kwale and Mombasa counties. The massive dam when complete is also expected to put 2,600 hectares of land under irrigation in Kwale County.
