West Karachuonyo residents in Homa Bay county are scared they will contract diseases amid an acute water shortage.
They want the county to pay a Sh8 million bill so electricity is reconnected to the Homalime treatment plant.
Kenya Power disconnected electricity to the plant three months ago after the bill accumulated to more than Sh8 million.
On Tuesday, resident Jane Auma said some children and elderly people have already been taken ill.
“Cholera and other water-borne diseases are likely to escalate in this area because of the water we use. Water from the lake is not safe for domestic use and the government should intervene,” she said.
Joseph Onditi criticised the Homa Bay government for failing to complete the West Karachuonyo Water Project to provide an alternative source.
The project has stalled for five years, he told journalists in Homa Bay town.
Okiki Amayo health centre has also been hit hard.
“It’s unfortunate that a water bowser belonging to the county government has now taken the role of selling water. They sell a 20-litre jerrycan at Sh50,” Onditi said.
Other affected locations include Kanyamfwa and Kokoth.
Clement Ochieng, the assistant chief of Kowuor where the treatment plant is situated, said people are forced to walk more than five kilometres in search of water.
“People cannot have a good life without clean and safe water. We’re appealing to the county government to foot the bill and restore water to the people,” he said.
Homa Bay Water and Sanitation Company director Evens Nyagol said plans are underway to clear the bill.
“We’re working to address the problem,” he said.
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya
