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Relief for residents as Kwale County takes steps to end perennial water shortage

Kwale residents listen as technicians explain how an excavator will be used to dig up dams and water pans, during Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani's launch of the project on March 18, 2024. (Photo: Mishi Gongo)

By Mishi Gongo | 19 Mar 2024

They have been forced to walk long distances to find the commodity and to share it with animals, risking water-borne diseases because of contamination, and attacks by wild animals.

For the longest time, residents of Kinango and Lunga Lunga in Kwale County have been grappling with water scarcity and a lack of clean water for domestic use.

They have been forced to walk long distances to find the commodity and to share it with animals, risking water-borne diseases because of contamination.

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Kinango resident Mariamu Mwatoa said most of the water sources have dried up and that their desperate search for others also exposes them to attacks by wild animals such as elephants.

"We have cases of people, especially children, getting attacked by elephants. We have been forced to create a shift. We only go to the river when we are sure the wild animals have quenched their thirst and left."

Kwale resident Mariamu Mwatoa prepares food at her home in Kinango during an interview on March 18, 2024. (Photo: Mishi Gongo)

Asked how she feels about the construction of dams and water pans, Mwatoa said the project will be a great help to the residents, and help decrease teenage pregnancies.

"Our girls have been impregnated when going to fetch water; most of these girls lie that they are going to fetch water only to meet up with their boyfriends, and because the paths are bushy, they provide the perfect hideouts for them to engage in sexual acts before proceeding to fetch water."

With the dams and water pans, she explained, the girls will have no reason to wander far from home.

Another resident, Fatuma Mwajambia, said that on several occasions they have been forced to carry water from home and take it to their kin in public hospitals.

"Can you imagine a level four hospital lacking water, and yet there are maternity cases and other in-patients? This project will be very helpful to Kwale's people," she said.

On Monday, Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani, accompanied by Lunga Lunga MP Mangale Chiforomodo, commissioned a project for the excavation of dams and water pans., using a machine specially designed for this.

Achani said the project would begin immediately, with Mkongani, Gadhini and Makwenyeni as the priority areas. It will complement the county's drilling rig, which is used to dig up boreholes, as part of efforts for water resource development.

"Through this initiative, we aim to achieve a harmonious balance of water resource development, tackle water scarcity and optimise social and economic welfare," she said.

Lunga Lunga MP Mangale Chiforomodo addresses Kwale residents during the commissioning of an excavator to dig up dams and water pans, on March 18, 2024. (Photo: Mishi Gongo)

The governor added that the perennial water shortage and hunger in Kwale is expected to end following the county's move to rehabilitate key water projects. They have already renovated several water boreholes in the drought-stricken sub-counties of Kinango and Lunga-Lunga to alleviate the crisis, she reported.

"We are doing what it takes to ensure residents have clean and safe drinking water throughout the year. The rehabilitation is part of the county and national government's efforts to ensure sufficient water supply and food security."

Achani further noted that the water projects will spur agribusiness and thereby help to improve living standards, as well as improve service delivery in public hospitals.

Thus far, Kwale has constructed dams including Bekazo, Nyalani, Kizingo, and Mwakalang.