The Ministry of Water and Sanitation on Tuesday flagged off 12 vehicles to be used by the Water Police Unit (WPU) to provide armed security and protection to critical water utilities across the country.
The vehicles flagged off by water PS Paul Ronoh aim to avert criminal activities such as vandalism and water theft in the country.
The PS said the current water demand for the country has risen to 22 billion cubic meters per year prompting the government to put an aggressive programme for water harvesting, storage and greater attention to water management for the country.
Ronoh was accompanied by Taita Taveta Governor who also doubles up as the chair water committee at the Council of Governors Andrew Mwadime.
Mwadime said the "Linda Maji Lipa Maji" programme is meant to address non-revenue water and has fixed close to 80 per cent of leakages in Nairobi.
The WPU was launched on January 30 by the Interior CS Kithure Kindiki through Gazette Notice No 1043 that designated water as a critical service.
Early this year, the government formed a special police unit to curb the rising cases of vandalism and theft of the country’s water supply and sanitation infrastructure.
The unit which comprises officers drawn from the Administration Police Service will be integrated into the Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit.
The unit has also been tasked to rein in illegal pipeline connections and siphoning off water from pipelines and storage facilities, a trend that has dealt various national water and sanitation agencies a major financial setback.
