Water crisis in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, is set to persist following complaints over funds to run operations by the government agency concerned with water supply in the city.
The Water Services Providers Association (WASPA) has lamented that people have not been paying their water bills since the Coronavirus pandemic struck and has warned that the situation could move from bad to worse in the coming days.
According to WASPA Chief Executive Officer, Antony Ambugo, the association has incurred a shortage of over US$ 10 million to run operations. “Tomorrow, it will not be an issue of water shortage but total lack of the basic commodity,” he warns.
Further, he says WASPA cannot afford to pay the lean workforce together with treating the water before supply among other issues like luck of funds to buy chlorine for the treatment of water.
The crisis comes just days after the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company shut down water supply from Sasumwa dam owing to a landslide inside Aberdare forest which damaged the water transmission pipes.
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Nairobi residents have for the past two weeks been forced to buy water from alternative vendors who draw it from boreholes and other sources whose safety is questionable.
The situation has raised concern among residents who are now fearing of contacting serious hygiene complications, and are worried that they may not be able to maintain the level of cleanliness required of by the Ministry of Health to keep Covid-19 at bay.
Kenya, in the past weeks, has recorded increased numbers of Covid-19 cases with highest numbers being recorded within the Nairobi Metropolitan, and a worrying penetration of the disease being observed in the slums. The correlation with lack of water is not far from the truth.
WASPA chairperson, Michael Mangeli, called upon the government and other stakeholders to chip in and bridge the gap, adding that failure to quick action would lead to taps drying up completely.
The city water company, however, announced that it will mobilize water tankers to supply water to the affected areas in a bid to mitigate the effects of the water shortage.
Nairobi has experienced interruption of water supply twice in one month.
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[…] knowledge might help make the case for funding. In Kenya, Mwangi stated $10 million is required to assist the nation’s utilities. Such funding might come from central governments, […]