•Koyoo said the government plans to renegotiate the building of the dam under the public-private partnership was only meant to frustrate the implementation.
•Koyoo said they will push the government to ensure the project is implemented based on the original plan.
Image: MAURICE ALAL
The government has been accused of deliberately sabotaging the construction of the Sh20 billion Koru-Soin multi-purpose dam.
Muhoroni MP Onyango Koyoo said the government plans to renegotiate the building of the dam under the public-private partnership was meant to frustrate the implementation of the project.
He said the dam has stalled for decades and should be completed for the benefit of residents.
Koyoo said the PPP would be impracticable and urged President William Ruto to stick to the initial plan of implementing the project.
The initial plan was for the government to fund the project. But during his visit to Kisumu, the President said the government will scout for an investor to build the dam.
“When we met Ruto at Kisumu State Lodge, he said they will renegotiate for the project to be implemented under the PPP. The government was to find an investor to build the dam and manage for a period before handing it over to the government,” he said.
“It would be difficult to find someone to build the dam and sell water to residents to recover his money. This will not be viable.”
Koyoo said they will push the government to ensure the project is implemented based on the original plan.
He told off those pushing to work with Ruto to facilitate projects in the constituency, saying the people of Nyanza are taxpayers and deserve projects like those in other regions.
“We should not be blackmailed to work with Ruto. The budgets are made in Parliament and not in State House, therefore our people have equal rights as other Kenyans,” Koyoo said.
“Some people have been telling me to go to Ruto for projects. I gave them an example of Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi who is a closer friend of Raila than myself but for his political career he sticks with Ruto. It’s Ruto who made him politically and for me it's Raila.”
Koyoo urged Ruto to show political goodwill and fully implement the dam. The project aims to end the perennial flooding that has caused loss of lives, property and livestock in the Kano plains for decades.
The 93.7 million storage capacity dam will provide 72 million litres of water per day for domestic use, irrigate 2,570 hectares (6,350 acres) and generate 2.5 megawatts of hydropower.
Residents of Kericho and Kisumu counties will also receive water through the project.
The project is also expected to reduce sediment formation downstream, which is the main cause of flooding and regulate Nyando River flow, thus providing water for irrigation all year round.
The dam will also supply water for domestic use, hydroelectric power generation and opportunities for fishing and water-based tourism.
It is one of the Vision 2030 flagship projects, which retired President Uhuru Kenyatta had started to implement.
The project will support existing irrigation schemes of Ahero and West Kano and enhance rice production and horticulture farming.
Initially, the government had allocated Sh2 billion to resettle the affected people in Kisumu and Kericho counties.
A total of 206 parcels of land in Kisumu and 110 in neighbouring Kericho are affected.
In May, Azimio leader Raila Odinga faulted the government for allegedly frustrating the construction of the dam.
Raila claimed that for decades the construction of the dam has lagged yet funds being allocated to facilitate this were being misappropriated.
He claimed more allocation had been put towards its construction and nothing had been done until now.
"We had earlier sat with Uhuru Kenyatta when he was the President and talked on the construction of this dam, money was allocated and the contractor even went to the site," he said.
Raila claimed that it was unfortunate that the money has been slashed and the dam is not among the 12 listed to be constructed in the country.
"In the current budget, 12 dams have been listed for construction but Koru Soin dam is not among them," he said.
Raila also claimed the Mamboleo road funds were slashed. He accused the government of taking away projects from the region to other areas.
Last year, Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o said the government allocated Sh200 million in the budget for the dam, and the contractor went with his machines to the site which is there until now, but it's unfortunate what is happening.
"The contractor is still at the site with his machines. What is sad is that in the listing of the dams to be constructed in the country, Koru-Soin is not among the list," he claimed.
He said the MP from the region should also do the same at the National Assembly and Senate.