By Francis Mwema, January 18, 2023, Machakos County Governor Wavinya Ndeti has challenged farmers to embrace climate smart agriculture. The Governor says that her county is set to make environmental conservation a key function.
She assured the residents of the county that the perennial water crisis that has hit the area will be addressed to help locals have sufficient water for their farms and domestic use.
Speaking in her office when the water Principal Secretary Dr. Kipruto Ronoh paid her a courtesy call, the governor said it was time for the county get a solution for the perennial water crisis once.
“My government is keen on investing more in the exploitation of surface water as opposed to groundwater which is not only expensive but also unsustainable. To this effect, I have made environmental conservation a key function of my government agenda,” said Wavinya.
She noted that the short and long rain seasons have been unreliable for the past three years leading to scarcity of water supply for both domestic and agricultural use further aggravating the threat of food security in the county.
Wavinya added that more than 90 percent of Machako’s food production activities are purely dependent on rain-fed agriculture, and the absence of sufficient rains has dealt a big blow to its agriculture.
She lamented that the rain crisis has also triggered a depletion of surface water facilities including dams, water pans, wells, and even canals which no longer have the capacity to support sustainable agriculture.
Wavinya reiterated that another way to deal with the crisis is to adopt long and short-term measures including environmental conservation campaigns.
“To deal with this crisis, my government has adopted strategic measures – both short term and long term to mitigate these effects including environmental conservation campaigns and a Climate Action Plan,” added the Governor.
She further noted that her government has managed to desilt and repair a total of thirteen dams spread across the county, replaced four borehole pumps, and equipped, powered, and repaired several boreholes just within her first 100 days in office.
The governor also said she has directed the department of water in Machakos to develop a policy framework that will be used to address the water needs of the county residents.
She thanked the President for his commitment to upgrading the Masinga Dam intake which will cost 300, million shillings. The project serves Masinga Sub County in Machakos and Kitui County.
On his part, Dr. Kipronoh Ronoh said that the National government is currently implementing several water projects across the country amounting to Ksh 661 billion.
The PS added that the ministry will scrutinize all water projects line by line to ensure there is value for money in each and every item put in tenders for dams, water pans, boreholes, and other water works.
The PS and Wavinya signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the utilization and management of Masinga Dam water.
The delegation which consisted of Machakos leaders and the County assembly team, Deputy County Commissioner David Rotich, and National government water stakeholders later toured the Masinga dam Yatta Canal, ngoliba dam, and Machakos water and sewerage company.
