Persons affected by Mwache dam to benefit from Sh1.9bn World Bank programme
Irrigation Principal Secretary Ephantus Kimotho with Mandera South MP Abdul Ebrahim Haro (left), during the inspection tour of the Mwache Multipurpose Dam Project in Kwale County by the National Assembly Committee on Implementation.
More than 4,000 households being relocated to pave way for the construction of the Mwache dam are set to benefit from a Sh1.9 billion World Bank funded livelihood restoration programme.
The programme, which is part of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), seeks to identify the social and economic needs of people displaced by the dam construction, including how to acquire land and resettle, and to sustainably restore their livelihoods.
It is a first of its kind in Kenya because the local community affected by the project will enjoy government support over and above the compensation they are getting for their land, housing and other developments.
The government is spending Sh4 billion to compensate the residents of Mwache, and so far Sh1.6 billion has been spent, with the remaining Sh2.4 billion expected to be paid from March next year.
According to Ephantus Kimotho, the Principal Secretary for Irrigation, the programme is an entitlement under the project’s RAP in accordance with the World Bank financing agreement, where each household will be followed up wherever it resettles to ensure there is uninterrupted continuity to their lives, whether in business or in farming.
The PS said the livelihood restoration implementation plan focuses on five main areas—crop production, livestock development, business and entrepreneurship, social protection and support to vulnerable affected persons and community infrastructure.
New homes
“The plan, which is already under implementation, will help the community to mitigate the negative effects of the displacement and to develop diversified sources of income,” Mr Kimotho told journalists during a tour of the project.
The World Bank has hired a Frontman Consultants Limited to implement the plan, in which 50 social workers and other experts have been deployed to document the economic activity each household was engaged in and how they can be supported to re-establish themselves in their new homes.
Mr Kimotho said out of the Sh1.9 billion World Bank grant, Sh450 million will be used to acquire land and reconstruct three new public schools—Fulugani Primary, Kunguni Primary and Mwache Bridge ECDE, each with modern facilities.
Another Sh390 million will be used to buy farm inputs to support displaced families who were engaged in agribusiness or livestock farming, and support various micro and small enterprises. The remaining Sh1.1 billion will be used to build community infrastructure, including roads, water pans and health facilities.
“This is a very unique support programme for the Mwache community. If someone was running a salon or barbershop, they would be supported with necessary equipment to ensure continuity to their livelihoods. Those who had livestock will also get similar support” said the PS.
Mr Jimmy Dena, who is the chairman of the project affected persons, said the programme had brought hope and excitement to the community. He said the affected households were grateful to the government for ensuring the disruption that came with mass displacement to pave way for the construction of the dam was minimal.
“We’re grateful to the government because we saw what happened to people affected by the standard gauge railway and Thwake Dam, where they only got the compensation for their land and developments and left on their own” said Mr Dena.
He explained that all the affected persons had already been mapped and their data captured in a process involving all stakeholders, including local administration, religious leaders and civil society.
Kinango MP Gonzi Rai welcomed the World Bank funded programme but called for more resources to effectively cushion the whole community.
“My people are being moved from the project area to the upstream area in the adjacent Mavumbo ward. Unfortunately for them, they won’t directly benefit from the dam water because it's designed to increase bulk water supply to Mombasa County, therefore they should be well taken care of,” said Mr Rai.
Sh1.9 billion
He added that the Sh1.9 billion World Bank grant was not sufficient to address the roads, water and health infrastructure challenges in the places the affected people are resettling. He also urged the ministry and project consultants to consider giving cash to small business owners to give them a free hand to establish enterprises of their choice.
Dr Paul Daudi, the Chief Executive Officer of Frontman Consultants said: “We came up with a payment plan for compensation starting with priority areas. The dam construction is going on in the sections people have been compensated and moved out, as other sections await their payments, but all the payments will be concluded by June next year.”
He explained that first priority area was the main dam site that covers approximately 1,360 hectares belonging to 1,394 households.
According to Adrian Cutler, the World Bank’s lead social development specialist, each affected household was helped to prepare their livelihood restoration plan. He noted that the perception by most people that the compensation for land would change their lives and lift them out of poverty often proves illusory, hence the need to manage the transition.
“This programme is designed to mitigate the impact of the project so that households who depended on the land acquired by the project for their income benefit the most, by supporting them to develop diversified sources of income” he said.
Mr Cutler says experience has shown that communities that acknowledge this and embrace the changes a project brings do better than those who perceive compensation as a “windfall” and do not plan for the future.
Offering cash instead of equipment, the Bank believes, was counter-productive, as an influx of cash into an agrarian economy means that some people are left without an income when the money runs out.
“This is the risk that the livelihood restoration programme is partly trying to mitigate because the Bank believes that the provision of more cash is not a solution to this problem” Mr Cutler said while encouraging the community leaders to support the programme.
