Stamp out water cartels, Governor Wanga asked
Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga adresses health county care workers during a meeting at her office on August 31,2022.
Civil rights activists in Homa Bay have challenged Governor Gladys Wanga to rein in cartels they accuse of creating a network that they use to benefit from desperate residents who need clean water.
The lobby groups say individuals in the county sell water from points that have a continuous supply when residential areas have had their taps dry for months.
They claimed that some vendors get water that should go to homes diverted to their stalls so that residents can buy it from them.
They say residents end up spending more money on buying water than they should.
Homa Bay County has the longest shoreline of Lake Victoria in Kenya but most families still struggle to get clean water to their homes.
The crisis has forced some residents, especially those living on the edge of the lake, to use water directly from the water body.
This puts them at risk of contracting bacterial diseases and other ailments as the lake is polluted by waste, including chemicals from industries and homes.
Ms Wanga, in her campaigns, pledged to ensure clean water is available from points where residents can easily access it, the furthest being one kilometre away.
She visited a water treatment plant at the Koginga beach in Homa Bay town last week and promised to address perennial water shortages.
She said her government will rehabilitate existing water plants to increase output and address the shortages.
"We will install more pumps to our major towns to increase distribution and to minimise the distance residents have to go to get water," she said.
But activists want her to do more.
Illegal water business
Homa Bay Bunge la Wenye Nchi leader Walter Opiyo and Interface Community Help Desk leader Evans Oloo said getting rid of individuals who run illegal water businesses is the best solution to the problem.
"It is ironic that a county which hosts the largest lake does not have water supplied to their homes. What a shame," Mr Opiyo said.
Water vendors, he claimed, likely colluded with Water and Environment department officials to get continuous supply.
As water scarcity continues in some parts of the county, he said, some vendors continue to open more outlets that they use to exploit residents.
"How come their taps never run dry when other places have water rationing? The entire department needs a complete overhaul," Mr Opiyo said.
The Homa Bay County Water and Sanitation Company (Homawasco) board of directors last week appointed Dan Angilah Oketch acting managing director to replace Evans Nyago, whose term expires at the end of this month.
Mr Oketch was the supply chain manager of Homawasco.
Mr Oloo said politicians have used water scarcity in Homa Bay as a campaign tool, promising voters to do something about it but changing little.
He said the county government should increase supply to homes to help reduce the disease burden.
"There is a need for the county government to conduct impromptu inspections where illegal water connections are rampant to save other people from perennial shortages," Mr Oloo said.
