Kitui, Machakos and Makueni residents will have to wait until April next year to enjoy water from Thwake Dam which is coming up on the boundary of Kitui and Makueni counties, President William Ruto said yesterday. The dam funded by the African Development Bank has stalled.
When he toured Kitui County over the weekend, President Ruto pledged the commitment of his administration towards completing the Vision 2030 flagship project which is touted as key in unlocking the economic potential of the Ukambani region and powering Konza Technocity.
“Thwake Dam is the biggest dam project in the country. We had planned to complete it by December. However, it encountered problems after we ran out of money. We have now secured Sh10.6 billion for completing the dam. The money was approved last month,” President Ruto announced after a Sunday service and funds drive at St Martin’s ACK church in Kitui Town.
“I have directed the Ministry of Water and the contractor that we need to commission Thwake Dam by April so that communities can start accessing water for domestic use, for watering their livestock and for growing crops through irrigation,” President Ruto added. This is the umpteenth time the government has postponed the completion of the dam project which started more than a decade ago.
The Head of State created the impression that delays in the undertaking of mega infrastructure projects would be a thing of the past as he made a strong case of the National Infrastructure Fund which he described as key in ending delays in the rollout of mega infrastructure projects across the country as he wooed the region to ditch the opposition and instead support his re-election bid.
“Through the national infrastructure fund, we shall accelerate in a sustainable way the rollout of mega infrastructure projects which include dams. For more than 40 years we knew we needed to construct dams. But we lacked an elaborate formula of delivering them. We have now created the formula. Already we have collected Sh 350 billion in the national infrastructure fund. That means we can now plan the roll out of commercially viable projects worth Sh3 trillion,” he said.
The President reiterated the commitment of his administration to ensuring that no region is left behind in terms of development irrespective of how they voted in the 2022 General Election. He said that a contractor was putting final touches on River Enziu bridge where more than 30 people died in 2021. “In Kitui County alone, we are doing 250 kilometers of roads worth Sh 5.6 billion. When we rollout the national infrastructure fund we shall accelerate the programme,” he said.
The roads under construction in Kitui County include Mbondoni-Kwa Siku Road, Ikutha-Mutha Road and Chuluni-Zombe Road which President Ruto inspected when he arrived on Saturday. Apart from the roads, President Ruto said Kitui County is earmarked for Sh 15 billion worth of projects under the affordable housing programme. “We are setting up 20 modern markets in Kitui County. Eleven of them are underway. The construction of other 9 markets are at the procurement stage,” he said while rallying the Ukambani voting bloc behind his 2027 reelection bid.
“You should get used to me. This time round, I am not leaving you behind. The Ukambani region has lagged behind for a long time in terms of development. I cannot allow the Ukambani region to be left out when we are forming the government of Kenya,” he said. Without mentioning anyone, he urged the region to shun politicians who are driven by hatred and promoting tribalism.
The Head of State was accompanied by Labor and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, Aviation and Aerospace Principal Secretary Terry Mbaika, Kitui County Assembly Speaker Kelvin Kinengo and MPs Charles Nguna (Mwingi West), Joshua Mwalyo (Masinga), Vincent Musyoka (Mwala), Mwengi Mutuse (Kibwezi West), and Rachel Nyamai (Kitui South).
Former Kitui Senator David Musila rallied the Ukambani voting bloc behind President Ruto’s reelection bid. “As the Kamba community, we have been in the political cold for a long. We cannot afford another term in the opposition. We should back President Ruto’s reelection,” he said.
