In Summary:
- Worrying trends; County govt. and LVNWWDA
- New tariffs
- Scotching challenges
- Impunity by road contractors
Transnzoia County’s successful petition saw Nzoia Water Services Company Limited (Nzowasco) split into two on 1st July 2024; Bungoma and Transzoia with Bungoma retaining the name.
Founded in 2004, NZOWASCO was entrusted with the responsibility of providing water and sanitation services in urban and rural areas spanning across Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties. The journey of separation, which started two years ago, was realized early this month with Trans Nzoia Water Services Company (Transwasco) being born.
This has ushered in very challenging times for Nzowasco which is currently trying to acclimatize itself with the separation.
Some of the challenges the Water company faces include:
- ikuweikuwe.com has noticed that Nzowasco is NOT party to the ongoing Lake Victoria North Water Works Development Agency (LVNWWDA) water pipes within Bungoma. This means it doesn’t know which connection is where and therefore this will ultimately make it difficult for Nzowasco to do maintenance when the project is eventually handed over to it upon completion.
- Further, ikuweikuwe.com has learnt that the recent tarmacking of access roads within Bungoma town in respect to Madaraka Day celebrations saw contractors destroy water pipes but have therefore refused to repair them rendering some residents without the essential product. The ministry of roads which should have notified Nzowasco before contruction so that rerouting of pipes is don’t has chosen to distance itself therefore leaving Nzowasco with the expensive exercise of doing repairs.
- The Dual carriageway construction did not make things any better since the “politically-correct” contractor refused to involve Nzowasco from the word go choosing instead to irregularly work with some staff “off-the-book”. This resulted in having objects blocking sewer lines / water pipes greatly affecting services like the stubborn Keringet round about area.
- It nevertheless is receiving very little support from Bungoma County govt despite having the CECM Water and Chief Officer Water sitting on its board of directors. The County concentrating more on digging unreliable boreholes that have in most cases run dry and/or cant serve the intended target group due to inadequate water. Most residents have therefore identified this as a cash-cow since it doesn’t realize 50% of its value.
It must be noted that Nzowasco must get a consent from KeNHA, KURA or KERRA for it to do any maintenance on sewer lines and/or water pipes located on any road. This affects its response time.
The Water company which introduced new tariffs recently and also looks forward to expand its clientele for sustainability purposes has seen the new tariffs face opposition from a section of its clients. Sources indicate that due process was followed though.
The company spends about 11million on electricity and is struggling to offer better services from the 7 water purification points within Bungoma County.
From breakage of pipes, and taps running dry to contested bills Nzowasco has a long way to go to stability. The leadership need unwavering support from stakeholders to survive the de-clustering
#eDDUHSimiyu
