State mulls gazetting Nyando as hardship area due to perennial flooding
The aftermath of heavy rains at Nduru Location in Nyando, Kisumu County, on July 15, 2020.
What you need to know:
- The CS said the government now recognises the need to for those working in the area to get hardship allowances.
- MP Jared Okello noted that the neighbouring Nyakach and Muhoroni sub-counties have been gazetted as hardship areas.
- Prolonged rains in the area have left at least 20,000 families displaced, property destroyed, crops swept away and lives lost.
The government is considering reviewing the designation of Nyando in Kisumu County as a hardship area, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa has said, citing factors including the perennial flooding in the region.
The CS said the government now recognises the need to for those working in the area to get hardship allowances.
“Going by what residents have experienced over the years, I fully support the move,” he said at an event at Ahero Multipurpose Development Training Institute over the weekend.
MP Jared Okello noted that the neighbouring Nyakach and Muhoroni sub-counties have been gazetted as hardship areas.
“Most of the civil servants and teachers posted to this region opt to be transferred as they encounter numerous challenges without any incentive,” he said.
“During rainy seasons, the floods render roads impassable and lead to a high prevalence of diseases while water scarcity and food insecurity awaits them during droughts.”
The legislator, while indicating that he had already submitted supporting evidence to the National Treasury for consideration, expressed confidence that the area’s status will be changed.
Proposed dam
Prolonged rains in the area have left at least 20,000 families displaced, property destroyed, crops swept away and lives lost.
Mr Wamalwa expressed confidence that the upcoming construction of the Sh25 billion Soin-Koru dam, on River Nyando along the Kisumu-Kericho border, will end the problem.
“The money for the project is available and we are currently receiving bids from interested contractors,” he said.
According to the tender published on August 18, Soin-Koru dam will be a zoned rockfill dam with an impermeable clay core and a capacity of 93.7 million cubic metres.
The dam will supply water for domestic use, irrigation and hydropower generation. It will supply 72,000 cubic metres of water per day for domestic and institutional use as well as water for the irrigation of 2,570 hectares of land and generation of 2.5 megawatts hydropower.
The water will be supplied to parts including Kisumu town, Ahero, Chemelil, Miwani, Awasi, Muhoroni, Koitaburot, Koru, Chemelil, Awasi, Miwani, Ahero and Rabuor.
