SPEECH BY H.E. HON. JAMES E.O.

ONGWAE, CBS, EBS, OGW,

GOVERNOR, KISII COUNTY DURING CELEBRATIONS TO MARK
WORLD WATER DAY 2018 AT TENDERE GROUNDS 22/02/2018

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am happy to join you today for celebrations to mark the National

Nile Day 2018. I wish to extend a warm welcome to you all – karibu
to the land of soapstone and bananas.

I thank the Ministry of Water and Irrigation for choosing Kisii County
to host this important occasion.

Hosting this day in Kisii County therefore helps raise public

awareness not only on the Nile but also on water resource
management and environmental conservation in the region.

Indeed, residents of Kisii County are an upstream riparian

community whose rivers and streams are headwaters of the Nile.
River Gucha, one of the major sources of water for Lake Victoria,
originates in the Kisii region so our activities directly and indirectly
affect the Nile.

This brings me to the theme for this event which is: “The Nile:
Shared River, Collective Action.” This theme is fitting for the
occasion because as Nile Basin Societies, we must appreciate the
fact that our wellbeing is largely dependent on the extent to

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which we manage and derive benefits of the shared basin water
resources.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Today, we commemorate the day in 1999 when the Nile Basin

Initiative was launched primarily to forge a common agenda
regarding the management and development of water affairs in
the Nile Basin.

I happened to participate in one of the negotiation meetings for

the Nile Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) in Entebbe,
Uganda, which committed member states to cooperate in the
development and utilization of the shared water resource.

Therefore, I understand the journey of the Nile Basin Initiative in the

quest to achieve sustainable socio-economic development
through equitable utilization of the common Nile Basin water
resources.

So when PS Segor’s wrote to me regarding plans to have Nile Day

celebrations in Kisii County, I gladly accepted.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

In Kisii County today, we are confronted by enormous water
supply and environmental management challenges occasioned
by growing demand and climate change.

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These challenges include, among others, encroachment onto
water catchments and riparian areas, declining soil fertility levels,
massive deforestation and pollution. For the first time in three
decades, we recorded temperatures as high as 36 degrees
Celsius in the month of January. We have also witnessed longer
dry spells and this has an effect on the farming seasons in the
region.

As I have previously said, time has come for us to make tough

decisions if we are to put this Great County and region on a
pathway to a greener, healthier and secure future.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

One of the contributors to environmental degradation in Kisii

County is the eucalyptus tree locally known as ‘omoringamu’.
Colonial settlers introduced this tree in Kenya in the 1900’s and
farmers, driven by curiosity, planted the tree for its aesthetic value,
timber and firewood unaware of the environmental impact it
would have in later years.

There’s overwhelming evidence that this tree loses large quantities

of water to the atmosphere due to high evapotranspiration thus
drying up water sources. Indeed, Kisii is among the regions that
have lost many springs, streams and rivers over the years due to
the presence of the eucalyptus tree.

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Many of our permanent rivers have reduced water volumes while
others have become seasonal over time. Kisii County is also
endowed with important catchments and rivers like Gucha,
Mogonga, Nyanturago, Rigare and Riana that are part of the
Lake Victoria Basin downstream.

While we are not condemning this tree, we need the support of all
stakeholders in our efforts to discourage indiscriminate cultivation
of the eucalyptus tree.

We must encourage our people to remove this tree from wetlands

and riparian areas and replace it with water friendly species like
bamboo (emoti), Gravillea robusta (omokabiria), Markhamia
lutea (omwobo) and Croton megalocarpus (omosocho) among
others.

We continue to see impressive results at Nyanturago and Rigare

where farmers have cut this tree along the riparian area which is
evidence that it can be done.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Now let me turn to the County Government’s strategy in

environmental and water resource management. Over the past
five years, we have invested substantial resources to enhance
sustainable water supply and management.

When we started in 2013, our focus was on spring protection to

improve the quality of water available to our people. However,

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we reviewed our strategy and adopted water reticulation to
reduce the distance covered to water points.

To enhance water reticulation programmes, we embarked on

construction of water schemes and revival of stalled ones.
Additionally, we invested in drilling of boreholes in public
institutions across all 45 wards. To ensure we cover more areas, we
are finalizing procurement of a drilling rig to sink more boreholes.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

You all know that the Kisii region receives high amounts of rainfall
throughout the year yet we risk being water scarce in the near
future. To promote rainwater harvesting in the county, we shall
distribute more 10,000-litre capacity water tanks to at least two
public institutions in each of the 45 wards.

For Kisii Town, we have asked Lake Victoria South Water Services
Board to speed up implementation of the KShs.1.5billion water
and sanitation project. The Gusii Water and Sanitation Company
(GWASCO) is currently unable to meet the demand for over
200,000 people in Kisii Town due to dilapidated water treatment
and pumping infrastructure at Kegati and Nyakomisaro.

When the project implementation ends next year, the supply

capacity will increase from the current 6,000 cubic metres to
27,000 cubic metres of water per day.

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Further, the wastewater treatment at Suneka is being remodelled
to increase its capacity to effectively process 4,000 cubic metres
of wastewater per day from the current 2,000 cubic metres.

The existing sewerage system covers approximately 16.7km but

very few plots are connected. As part of the expansion, plot
connectivity will be increased to 100 per cent so that all individual
households, institutions and government offices are covered.

As a long-term strategy, we have engaged a development

partner who has agreed to offer technical support in the
development of a water and environmental master plan for Kisii
County.

Further, we plan to hold a Water and Environmental Management

Conference that will bring together various stakeholders to
deliberate on a sustainable solution to the current challenges in
the sector.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Solid waste management remains a challenge for the County

Government due to lack of land to host a waste management
site. We advertised for this land but the process was hindered by
hostility from members of the public opposed to having such sites
in their locality.

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We continue engaging stakeholders and residents through public
participation to fast track acquisition of a waste management site
for Kisii and other towns. To boost efficiency in waste disposal, we
have finalized plans to purchase an additional five (5) garbage
collection tractors and trailers to be deployed across the county.

Ladies and gentlemen;

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate the County Government’s

commitment to avail safe drinking water to every homestead. We
also commit to jointly take good care of and utilize the shared Nile
Basin water and related resources for present and future
generations.

We shall partner with the National Government and other

agencies to address the water supply and environmental
management issues facing the region.

As a community, we need to review our attitudes towards the

environment because natural resources are finite hence the need
for sustainable utilization and management. We have an
individual and collective responsibility to protect the environment
for present and future generations.

I thank you.

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