A section of Kinango residents who gave out their land for the Sh1.2 billion Makamini Dam project in Kwale are demanding compensation.
Last week, the residents decried that the payment is taking longer than expected.
Led by their chairman Lawrence Malawi, the residents said the duration given by the government has expired. This is causing anxiety since the contractor has already moved to the site.
"A lot of time has elapsed despite being promised that the issue will be sorted out. To date the affected families have not yet received a single penny," he said.
The chairman said the respective authorities have been taking residents in circles as new compensation dates are given every day.
He said they are currently in the dark on when the payment will be done.
The residents said they are not opposing the project but want to be fairly compensated.
Saudi Chaka Kibanda one of the affected residents said they are confused about how the government is addressing the compensation issue.
He said they have not yet agreed on the land payment rates yet the dam's activities have commenced.
"We don't know how much each one of us will be paid per acre because we have not been consulted and nobody has communicated to us," Kibanda said.
He said the government is already in full possession of their lands even before settling the compensation issue with them.
He added that life has become hard for them since they can't access the lands and don't have money for relocation.
Kibanda said they are unemployed and their only source of livelihood is farming which at the moment they can't practice because their lands are designated for the project.
He said they are on the verge of facing starvation due to unemployment and high poverty rates.
"Our children want to eat, January school fees is waiting for us, we can't farm, we are jobless with no payment, how will we survive?" Kibanda said.
The residents want the government to consider their plight since they wholeheartedly welcomed the project.
The construction of Makamini Dam was officially commissioned in June by Water Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki.
In her speech during the launch, she said the affected residents will be fairly compensated but have to be patient.
"Any resident who had given up their lands for the dam construction will be considered and fairly treated. So don't worry," she said.
The CS advised residents to remain vigilant and shun politicians who would want to politicise the project.
In an interview last week, the project manager from China Jiangxi International Kenya, Wang Zhipeng said the dam's construction has not yet started.
He said they are still designing and planning ahead of the construction.
Over 40,000 residents are set to benefit from the project.
Construction of phase I will take at least 18 months. It will be the second-largest after Mwache Dam in Kinango.
It will cover about 278 km2 of land and has a capacity to hold 1,000 cubic meters.
The nine metre-high earth dam is expected to address the constant water shortage in the region.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
