Gatundu MP leads residents in protesting against Ruto’s Ksh 13B Project
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Gatundu MP leads residents in rejecting Ruto's Ksh 13B Project while questioning the relevance of spending on the dam project
Gatundu MP leads residents in rejecting Ruto’s Ksh 13B Project while questioning the relevance of spending on the dam project.
Gatundu North Member of Parliament Njoroge Kururia, on Friday, January 13, led his constituents in rejecting a dam set to be constructed in the Constituency.
Speaking during a public engagement forum between the locals and stakeholders in the water department in Gatundu North, the residents expressed their reservations against what would see them cede their land to the project.
Furthermore, they questioned the necessity of investing Ksh13 billion on a dam when the Karimenu Dam, which was built during the administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, is only 5 kilometers away.
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The residents expressed their dissatisfaction with the idea of being moved in order to make space for the project.
Residents claim that the government intended to relocate the affected population to Murang’a County’s semi-arid territory.
“These residents have left their businesses to declare that they do not want a dam because there is another dam just close to the proposed one and, secondly, because there is a very large land in a nearby forest that should be used instead of displacing residents,” the MP noted.
Additionally, the locals bemoaned how the area had trailed behind in terms of national growth, arguing that they had been ignored for too long.
They urged the government to give other initiatives of a higher priority since they such as improving the provision of services and the road system.
Water Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome, who visited the area on Friday, January 13, said she was under orders to make sure the project is completed as quickly as feasible.
She did admit, however, that the government had not yet come to a decision regarding the procedure for relocating and paying impacted landowners.
“I will be signing the letters for these parcels on Monday. Thereafter, it will be a matter of assessment of how much and the time needed,” she stated.
The Ndarugo Dam was part of President William Ruto’s promise to construct over 100 dams that had been planned in the previous administrations.
Ruto stated that the dams were crucial in steering the country toward a food-secure future and sufficing the deficit of the amount of water for Kenyans.
In particular, the Ndarugo Dam was designed to help alleviate the water shortage in parts of the Kiambu and Nairobi Counties.
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