Slum residents hit by severe water shortage
A man sells water at Tena Estate in Embakasi, Nairobi County, on April, 28, 2014.
Residents of three slums in Nairobi County’s Embakasi South and Starehe sub-counties have suffered a severe water shortage for about three weeks now.
The slums are Mukuru-Kwa Njenga in Embakasi South, Mukuru-Maasai and Mukuru-Kayaba in Starehe.
The business of selling water thrives under such circumstances, and in several parts of the city, as residents go without tapped water.
Water shortages are one of Nairobi’s perennial problems, which cost it revenue as cartels manipulate prevailing circumstances for their own benefit.
In some parts of Nairobi, the situation has been worsened by construction of the expressway along Mombasa Road.
As part of efforts to stop unscrupulous business people, the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) on Friday cracked down on illegal water points in Imara Daima estate.
Vendors interviewed by the Nation on Friday regretted that corruption thrives as residents go without the essential commodity.
“Cartels in the water business have seen the county lose millions in revenue, which ends up in the pockets of a few individuals. Prices are also raised haphazardly yet no one is arrested for the crimes,” a source who sought anonymity told the Nation.
The residents asked the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Authority (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to thoroughly investigate the matter and punish those found guilty of wrongdoing.
