Lodwar water company dissolved over poor services
Residents of Lodwar town scramble for water outside Lodwar Water and Sanitation Company office on September 19, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Residents have been demanding an overhaul of the company's operations.
- According to the residents, the town has never had reliable water supply.
Lodwar Water and Sanitation Company has been dissolved after failing to fully address the needs of residents of the fast-growing town for years.
It follows sustained demands by residents for a complete overhaul of the company's systems and operations.
The company has been faulted for failure to address the unending water shortage in Lodwar Town.
The company has frequently been accused of its inability to cater for power consumption to pump water from strategic boreholes despite its employees always being punctual with water bills.
Mr Daniel Ekitela, a resident of Lodwar, said the town has never had reliable water supply and the often some places don't receive water for a whole month forcing consumers to buy water from vendors.
“The company has been unreliable in water supply and unable to keep up with the town’s rapid expansion," Mr Ekitela said.
Deputy County Secretary Dr Gamoe Albert Locham said the company, which had Lodwar Municipal Council and Lake Turkana Outsource Company as the main shareholders, has been transited to Turkana Urban and Turkana Rural water companies.
Mr Pius Ewoton, a director at Lake Turkana Outsource Company, said the move to dissolve the company and transfer shares to the two companies that will be managed by the county government would ensure water scarcity is resolved once and for all.
"There is a future in these two companies because the county government will freely provide funds for operations," Mr Ewoton said.
Ms Tabitha Naomi, a resident and an official of the Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organisation, said women are the most hit by water scarcity in the town.
She said residents of California, Nakwamekwi, Kawalase, and Tobong'u loree villages have been forced to scoop unsafe water from the banks of Kawalase River which has dried up.
"We hope the two new companies will be properly financed and managed to ensure all residents of Lodwar have access to clean and safe water," Ms Naomi said.
Three weeks ago, the County Departments of Water Services, Health, and Sanitation said water scarcity in both rural and urban areas was linked to lack of baseline data for water sector actors to come up with reliable solutions.
They stressed the need for baseline data of the county water infrastructure and sector players to properly guide in tackling pressing challenges in water service delivery.
County Chief Officer for Water Services Simon Etom said the available data was incomplete and largely unavailable by actors in the sector.
"With a well-documented baseline survey the county, with support from development partners, will be able to address specific needs of both urban and rural areas they are targeting with water projects," Mr Etom said.
