Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua has blamed political rivals for the destruction of water tanks, pipes and solar panels installed by the county government.
Ten plastic water tanks and 82 solar panels have been destroyed in the past 12 months. Water pipes covering 2.4kms have either been vandalised or stolen.
The latest spate of vandalism happened at Katangi in Yatta where a 50,000-litre tank was destroyed a few days ago. “This is despicable. It is an act of cowardice by people who are getting desperate,” Mutua said.
“Every single day, we are waking up to reports of sabotage of our water and other development projects. The sabotage has increased in the last two months after we revived SEKEB.”
SEKEB is short for South Eastern Economic Bloc that brings together Kitui, Makueni and Machakos counties.
The governor claimed the attacks were politically motivated. “I don’t understand the mentality of some people. They really hate development.”
Water chief officer Jackson Muthini said the county has equipped 407 boreholes with solar panels. They have also dug 404 weirs.
The county has also embarked on elevating 50 tanks to supply piped water to towns and homes. “It is heartbreaking that we work so hard only for some people to destroy public utilities,” Muthini said.
Deputy Governor Francis Maliti said the Katangi tank will be reinstalled.
Police said they were waiting for a report from the National Construction Authority to take action on the vandalism. “We’ll act once we receive the NCA report,” Yatta DCI boss Wanga Masake told the Star by phone yesterday.
NCA officials visited the scene on Monday.