A team has been dispatched to all public primary and secondary schools in Nakuru Town West to ascertain the water supply status ahead of re-opening on May 10.
Area MP, Samuel Arama said his office wanted to ensure that all the water tanks installed by the government last year were still intact and with sufficient water reserve.
He said it was vital to ensure that all schools had sufficient water supply as a measure to ensure hand-washing among school-going children and save them from contracting Covid-19.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Peace and Security Meeting organised by the Mid-Rift Human Right Network, Arama promised that his office would supplement the government’s effort to supply water to schools.
“The government installed 10,000litre tanks in most of the schools and I pledge to ensure they have water and buy tanks for those that do not have as a move of safeguarding our children against the pandemic,” he said.
He observed that social distancing, masking up and handwashing were still the most vital ways of stopping the spread of coronavirus.
Arama added that children could also wash hands at the 458 handwashing points erected at strategic points in the populous subcounty.
“We will hold talks with teachers and urge them to encourage the children to use the public hand-washing points when need be,” he said.
Asked how he managed to keep the 200-litre containers intact and sufficiently supplied with water and soap more than one year still installation, Arama said he had a team specifically assigned to the handwashing campaign.
Most of the public handwashing points installed in early 2020 have either been vandalised or abandoned.
“To stop vandalism, the National Government Constituency Development Fund has to spend a little bit more and mounted the tanks on mental stands,” he said.
He added that to stop vandals from carting away the metal stands and water tanks, the metal stands were planted in the ground and compressed with concrete while the tanks have a lockable metal grill.
“Out of the 460 handwashing points installed in 2020 in Nakuru Town West, only two have been vandalised,” he said.
International Metro Church Bishop, Mike Brawan asked water companies to reconnect water supply to schools that had been disconnected due to pending bills.
“It is very unfortunate to have schools connected to water supply depending on rainfall and water boozers in the middle of a disaster,” he said.
Brawan said this was a time to try and save lives by stopping the spread of COVID-19 and not concentrate on making money.
