• Kimwarer to be cancelled and Arror be restructured.
• Murkomen said the composition of the technical committee did not reflect the ethnic and regional balance.
Image: PSCU
Allies of Deputy President William Ruto have admonished President Uhuru Kenyatta for the cancellation of construction of Kimwarer Dam, claiming it was a clear case of discrimination.
Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen, Keiyo South MP Daniel Rono his Belgut counterpart Nelson Koech and Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi said it was clear from the start the government was determined to “kill” the construction of the multi-purpose dam.
“They started giving it a bad name that there were irregularities in how it was done. some people were charged. Now they have cancelled it just to deny our people this critical project,” Koech protested
Sudi claimed the “the initial plan was to divert the project to different part of the country and the only way to do was to bring up the issues of corruption”.
“This matter is in court but it is clear they do not have evidence against the innocent people who have charged. The whole scheme was to deny the people of Elgeiyo Marakwet the project which they have waited for several decades,” Sudi told the Star.
He said they will consider moving to court since the project had already been approved and public participation undertaken.
On his part, Rono whose constituency the dam is situated said he will appeal to Uhuru to reconsider the move.
“It is unfortunate that the entire community has had to suffer because of some people who are alleged to have committed some irregularities. The President should have waited for the matter in court to be concluded before taking any drastic action like he has done today (yesterday),” Rono said.
He added: “We will peruse all means possible for this ill-informed decision to be reversed. The dam was not just meant for the people of Elgeiyo Marakwet alone but the entire country as it was to produce electricity.”
Murkomen said the cancellation of Kimwarer dam and restructuring of Arror dam did no come as a surprise as all along he knew of the plan to kill the projects.
He said the composition of the technical committee did not reflect the ethnic and regional balance.
“It is a shame that Maringa, Matu,Mwangi and Muiruri who have no knowledge or attachment to the region have misled the President. The technical committee did not consult anyone neither did they carry out any public participation,” he said in his statement to media.
He said the move will deny the residents of his county “their rightful share of national projects in a deliberate act of discrimination”.
“They would rather default and pay the contractors billions of money for breach of contract than to see our people benefit from the two projects What as shame! ,” Murkomen noted.
He called on Uhuru to reconstitute a fresh team that brings experts from different ethic compositions “ to look at all projects in Kenya and that which will not ethnically profile some regions for discrimination”.
“We are consulting as the people of Elgeyo Marakwet County and we shall do everything in our abilities to ensure that justice is not only done but seen to be done to our people,” he said.
A technical committee that had been formed following alleged irregularities and improprieties surrounding the constructions of Kamwarer and Arror dams presented its report recommending that Kimwarer be cancelled and Arror be restructured.
The committee chaired by Principal Secretary for Infrastructure Paul Maringa and comprising of Quantity Surveyor Julius Matu, Benjamin Mwangi and John Muiruri found out that for the sh 22.2 billion Kimwarer dam was overpriced and that the project is neither technically nor financially viable.
“The committee established that no current reliable feasibility study had been conducted on the dam project. The only feasibility study carried out on a similar project 28 years ago had revealed a geological fault across the 800-acre project area, which would have negative structural effects on the proposed dam,” they said.
The committee also told the President that the project area is settled and would require compensation of displaced residents and the water supply mechanism would involve pumping, an aspect they noted was unsustainable in terms of operations and maintenance costs.
“It was established that the pumping would make the project financially unsustainable in the long run. Therefore, the Technical Committee recommended to the President that the Kimwarer Dam project be discontinued,” they noted.
On Arror, the committee said it economically viable but noted that it was overpriced.
“As such, the committee recommended to the President a cost rationalisation plan that will ensure the project is implemented cost-effectively without affecting its performance and output,” they said.
As part of the cost rationalization plan, the committee scaled-down the height of the dam from the initial 96 metres to 60 metres
“The optimized dam will be technically viable since it will only require about 250 acres of land and cost KShs 15.4 billion with power and Shs 13.1 billion without power. The dam was previously estimated to cost KShs 28.3 billion,” they said.