Group wants Sh5.5bn Chemususu dam project halted
A view of the Chemususu Dam on September 30, 2014 during its handing over to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Governors want funds allocated to the Ministry of Water given to counties. FILE PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH |
What you need to know:
- Residents of Eldama Ravine say they were excluded from the distribution network.
A group of Eldama Ravine residents are seeking to stop water distribution in the Sh5.5 billion Chemususu dam project.
In a petition filed at the High Court in Nakuru, the residents of Maji Mazuri centre, Kisanana, Majimoto, Noiwet, Muserechi, Nakurtakwe and Torongo claim they have been left out in the distribution network and design of the dam.
They have sued the Attorney-General and the Rift Valley Water Services Board, saying their fundamental rights and freedoms have been trampled on.
The group wants the water distribution halted pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
They have also asked the court to compel the board to include them in the dam’s design and distribution network.
“The petitioners have been denied public participation and hearing in a matter adversely affecting their economic and social rights, being a right to clean and safe water,” says the lawsuit.
DENIED ACCESS
The residents further claimed that the board failed to publish the distribution network and design in public media including its website, denying them access to the information.
Justice Maureen Odero on Wednesday certified the matter urgent and ordered the parties to serve one another with relevant papers before the hearing on September 10.
The construction of the dam began on July 15, 2009 in Eldama Ravine, Koibatek Sub-County. The work has since been completed.
The dam, which is 45 metres high, with a capacity of 12 million cubic metres, is meant to serve Baringo and Nakuru counties.
It is expected to benefit more than 600,000 people through piped water supply, fishing, irrigation and energy production among others.
The Perkerra irrigation scheme in Marigat is among the expected beneficiaries.
The dam is a Vision 2030 flagship project, is the largest in the Rift Valley and was handed over to the board by the contractor on September 2014.
