MERU AND THARAKA NITHI COUNTIES TO SEEK JOINT SOLUTIONS TO WATER PROBLEM.
Governors H.E. Kiraitu Murungi of Meru and H.E. Onesmus Muthomi Njuki of Tharaka Nithi have this morning moderated over the Meru Water Dialogue Forum of all stakeholders in the Water and Environment sectors, at Hotel Three Steers in Meru town, where the Chief guest was the Moroccan Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Dr. El Mokhtar Ghambou.
The forum which is also attended by the Chairman of Kenya Water Resources Authority Joe Mutambu,is aimed at addressing the thorny issues that surround distribution and use of water especially for residents of both counties that live in the lower areas, where rivers have most dried up or become seasonal.
"We are having too many meetings, conferences, workshops, policies and laws, yet, very little is changing on the ground. While we all acknowledge there are problems with water, we have not been able to come up with a coordinated way of addressing them," said Governor Kiraitu.
He noted that lack of coordination as seen situations where County Government built water intakes for residents, but agencies of the national government, without consulting, destroyed them despite the fact that they were put up using taxpayers money.
The Governor also observed that lack of proper knowledge and awareness has also seen cases where residents oppose and fight conservation programs such as the bamboo planting on Mariara River, where the program was hampered due to suspicion from the people, that the government was repossessing the land.
He said that another challenge has been the planting of eucalyptus trees in the riparian lands and river banks, where even after the County Assembly passed the law to uproot the trees three years ago, enforcement of that law has not been done because of lack of coordination. Governor Kiraitu said that the forum is meant to come up with multifaceted, coordinated, practical and implementable solutions to the environmental and water challenges that threaten the future of Meru and TNC.
On his part, Governor Njuki said that it is imperative for the two counties to work together and come up with long term solutions, especially being the counties at the eastern slopes of Mt. Kenya where most rivers that supply water to the whole of Kenya originate. He noted that of the 17 permanent rivers that used to flow through Tharaka Nithi, only 10 semi permanent ones are now left, including the Kathita River.
Amb. Dr. Mokhtar said that he is pleased to work with the two counties in sharing the solutions that were implemented in Morocco where half of the country is a desert, but was able to be turned around into a leading agricultural hub in the world. He said that Morocco has 145 big dams and 255 small dams which turned around the Country’s fortunes, and he believes such programs could bring the same effect to Meru.
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