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The parliamentary committee on Blue Economy, Water and Sanitation has pledged to push for funding of Koru-Soin dam that straddles Kisumu and Kericho counties.
This follows the suspension of works on the Sh19.8 billion multipurpose dam, which was expected to be completed in 2027, due to delayed payments.
The committee members, who toured the project, said the suspension will delay its completion.
Project manager Eng Julius Mugun told the committee that the contractor, China Jiangxi International Kenya Limited and China Jiangxi International Economic and Cooperation Company Limited, suspended work over delayed payments.
The government-funded project was started on August 27, 2022, after three decades of planning and expected to be complete by 2027.
Mugun said the contractor demanded Sh846.5 million before resuming the excavation works after receiving advance payments of Sh499 million, which was used to mobilise equipment and workers.
The advanced payment was also spent in setting a contractor campsite, a resident engineers camp, and geotechnical investigation for the dam site and construction materials.
“The excavation of the spillway is 50 per cent complete,” Mugun added.
In the 2022-23 financial year, the government only allocated Sh100 million to the project against the proposed Sh3 billion, making it difficult for the contractor to continue with the work.
“The delay in disbursement of funds for the project was set to escalate the contract sum due to price adjustments and penalties,” Mugun said.
The committee was told that the government has not acquired the entire dam project area, with more than 45 per cent of the affected families from Kisumu and Kericho counties owed Sh2.2 billion in compensation.
The project is designed to control flooding in Nyando, irrigation, hydropower generation and supply of portable water in Kisumu and Kericho counties.
Mugun called for support and funding to ensure its completion within the stipulated time.
He said the funding from the government was not adequate to complete the project within the 60 months. The National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority (NWHSA) is exploring other ways to raise funds for the project.
Mwingi North MP Paul Nzengu questioned how the project was awarded before the implementing agency found ways to raise funds to complete the project within the timeline.
“How does a state agency go ahead to award a Sh19.8 billion project to a contractor without a clear roadmap on how the funds are going to be raised?” he questioned.
Matuga MP Kassim Tandaza said it was unrealistic to realise the project with the current funding model from the government. "The allocation of Sh100 million annually to the project will take 198 years to have it completed,” he said.
The MP said the funding of the project was untenable since the Ministry of Water has a budget of Sh5 billion out of which Sh3 billion was donor funds.
“We have to find ways on how the money can be raised to fully implement the project to serve the intended purpose,” he said.
Muhoroni MP Onyango Koyoo also questioned the suspension of the project, saying it was purely political instead of championing the well- being of citizens.
He urged President William Ruto to separate the project from politics and release funds to ensure it is completed by 2027.
Koyoo said the project is important as it will be key in addressing the perennial flooding in Nyando.
Besides flooding, the project will provide water for irrigation to boost food security and empower communities economically as well as power generation.
Koyoo said residents from Koru and Soin are taxpayers like those in other areas in the country, and they want the project to be completed to benefit them.
His Wajir South counterpart Mohammed Adow said it would be a setback to Kenyans should the project be abandoned.
He said the project will create a massive impact economically not only to residents of Kisumu and Kericho but the entire country when completed.
“We cannot afford to have the project incomplete. As the National Assembly committee, we will explore ways to bring it back to life for the benefit of the people of this area and the country at large,” Adow said.
Committee vice chairman and Kuria East MP Marwa Kitayama said the project will create massive benefits to the country given its sustainability and economic potential.
Kitayama said according to the data shared by the various state agencies, the Sh19.8 billion required to complete the project can be recovered within four years once the project is fully operational.
“We are fully aware of the existing issues now. The project has been brought to our attention several times through legislators from this region who have been petitioning Parliament to ensure that it is completed given the value it brings to the country,” he said.
Kitayama said they would retreat to write a report that will be tabled in the Parliament on the next course of action to ensure the project is completed.
“The government can deliver the project considering its ability to generate income to the exchequer,” he added.
Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency acting chief executive officer Christine Juma said the dam was key in the provision of potable water in the region.
Juma said besides irrigation and power generation part of the dam water would be treated and supplied in Kapsoit, Kaitui, Kapsitet (Kericho), and Katito, Muhoroni, Awasi, and Ahero (Kisumu).
“We have captured this in our Kisumu water master plan. It is in our interest to see that this project is completed so that we can supply portable water for locals,” he said.
