A Senate watchdog committee has given the county seven days to put in place a plan to clear a Sh76 million debt owed to Murang’a Water and Sanitation Company (Muwasco).
The Senate County Public Investments and Special Funds committee said that the debt could cripple the operations of the water utility.
The company’s debt has been steadily growing from Sh60 million in December 2020 to Sh71 million as of January this year and since then the amount has increased by Sh5 million.
“The county government has seven days to submit to this committee a written commitment on how it plans to clear the debt,” said the committee’s chairperson Senator Godfrey Osotsi.
On December 11, 2020, Muwasco managing director Daniel Ng’ang’a wrote to the previous administration over the debt accruing from unsettled water bills asking for the payment of the debt which was Sh60.6 million at the time.
Murang’a hospital held the lion’s share of the bill at Sh47.2 million, town management Sh7.9 million and governor’s offices Sh1.8 million, with the rest of the amount owed by other institutions within the county.
Even with several demand letters to clear the bills, they have remained unpaid.
Appearing before the committee, Muranga’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata said the county government has committed Sh10 million in the current budget towards servicing the debt.
He indicated that the amount will be paid to the company next month and thereafter, his administration will pay Sh5 million monthly until the debt is cleared.
“We will take the challenge into account and submit a written debt repayment plan within seven days. However, we will pay Sh10 million to the company in September this year,” said Dr Kang’ata.
Narok Senator Ledama Olekina wondered why the county government took such a long time to resolve the debt issue despite the firm’s management constantly engaging the administration over the matter. He argued that the Sh10 million allocation is a drop in the ocean.
“The budget is very little compared to what is owed. This is a going concern. You are crippling your own company. Can we find a solution to this matter once and for all?” asked Mr Olekina.
He expressed his pessimism over the county government’s commitment and called on it to prepare a supplementary budget to clear the outstanding bill.
“You want to pay the amount now then wait until we call you here again to pay. Why don’t you lay out a clear plan to clear the debt?” he posed.
Muwasco was established in 2006 with a mandate to provide water and sewerage services to Murang’a town and its environs. It serves Mbiri, Township, Kiharu and Mugoiri wards, serving an estimated population of about 75,000 people.
The utility has more than 20,000 registered connections out of which 16,679 are active.
