Water department in most of the Rift Valley counties are suffering from poor budget absorption due to inadequate technical capacities.
An umbrella organization of budget facilitators, Rift Valley Budget Hub also noted that water department in the vast region which has 14 counties were poorly funded further frustrating supply of the vital commodity.
Coordinator of the umbrella organisation, Evans Kibet said inadequate allocation of water projects by communities hampered efficient implementation and resulted in incomplete projects.
He urged technical officers from the counties to e present during public participation forums to guide the community on costs of different water projects.
“The community does not know how much it would cost to sink a borehole and piping water to different areas, we need people with technical knowhow to avoid guess work,” said Kibet.
Rift Valley Budget Hub is on a mission to ensure citizens-led advocacy for improved water services in the Region
Addressing media in Nakuru during a round table meeting with representatives from the county governments and Central Rift Water Works Development Agency he encouraged dialogue between the central government, counties and citizens to ensure better access to clean water.
“These coversations will help the public know what to expect and from who, citizens should know where the mandate pf the county ends and where that of the regional water works begin or how the national government implements its budget so that water access is improved,” said Kibet.
The coordinator said the conversations would also ensure community priorities get space in the budget and are implemented in an efficient manner.
“There is a serious water access problem in Rift Valley especially in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and budgets are the only tool that translates government policies into citizens aspirations into their rights to access clean water,” he said.
According to the 2019 census report, there is serious water access in the Rift Valley region with seven of the 10 bottom counties being from Rift valley.
These counties include Baringo, Samburu, Narok and West Pokot among others.
“This is what informed the move to sensitise citizens in the region on the importance of giving priority to the water sector,” added Kibet.
