Govt admits corruption in water sector

The government on Tuesday seemed to admit that the country's water sector is riddled with corruption and inefficiency as revealed on Monday through a report by Transparency International.

Water Permanent Secretary David Stower said that the ministry, since the revelation, has asked the Nairobi water and Sewerage Company to work with law enforcement agencies to disconnect all illegal connections.

Mr Stower welcomed the report saying that it would help the ministry in the ongoing reforms in the water sector.

"This is a very good working document that we have now received and will help us improve services to the people. There is a lot of water that is unaccounted for. We have to enforce the law so that those involved in illegal connections are brought to book," said Mr Stower.

He added that the ministry would also move to reduce the number of private water companies that have proliferated the sector since it was liberalised.

The report by TI showed that more than 50 per cent of domestic water consumers do not pay their bills. Moreover, officials from various water boards accept bribes to establish illegal connections that are never billed, the report done in collaboration with Maji Na Ufanisi and Pwani Coalition for Good Governance, adds.

The study examined provision of water services, malpractices in water institutions, water resource management and the best practices for promoting transparency and accountability in the key sector.

It revealed that 46.8 per cent of domestic water users in the surveyed areas have access to piped water compared to the 53.2 per cent who have access to unpiped water. At the same time, 17.6 per cent of polled domestic water users said they were never issued with official receipts upon payment.

Meanwhile, the government Tuesday entered into an MOU with an international firm, EarthWater Global, for ground water exploration. The New York based firm locates, develops and manages ground water resources to get fresh water transmitted through tectonic fractures in bedrock and stored in "Megawatersheds".

Mr Stower said that the move would help create a sustainable water source for the city before it is expanded to the rest of the country. The firm's president Mr Robert Bisson said that they would start the delivery of water from the ground early next year.