Ruto reaches agreement with Italian President to revive Arror and Kimwarer dams
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Ruto revives the construction of Arror and Kimwarer dams in a deal with the Italian President after hitting a snag during Uhuru's administration
Ruto revives the construction of Arror and Kimwarer dams in a deal with the Italian President after hitting a snag during Uhuru’s administration.
At a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday, March 14, at State House Nairobi, Ruto said his administration would work with the Italian government to iron out any roadblocks to the project’s advancement.
President Ruto emphasized that both governments had agreed to make it easier for cases that questioned the validity of the procurement process used in the project’s early stages to be withdrawn.
“The process of sorting the matters in court has already started in earnest,” Ruto noted.
“We have agreed to re-establish cooperation on the construction of Arror, Kimwarer, and Itare dams and other water and sanitation projects which are critical to our agenda on food security, delivery of water, and climate action,” stated the President.
Ruto further stated that steps would be taken to renegotiate the financial commitments made while President Uhuru Kenyatta was in office.
The Arror and Kimwarer projects, which Ruto described as “vital and top priority” for the government’s intentions to ease the water shortage situation in some areas of the Rift Valley, were keen to resume in a “matter of months,” according to Ruto.
“I am very proud to announce that the three dams which were subject to court cases and court matters, we have now agreed on a framework to settle all the outstanding court cases and court matters and agreed that the facilities that had been provided for the construction of these dams will be renegotiated so that we can provide for the delivery of the dams and the implementation of the projects,” he added.
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The Italian President committed to providing over Ksh13 billion in loans and grants to aid Kenya in the implementation of various projects within the agriculture, health, creative economy, and digital superhighway sectors.
The two dams’ (Arror and Kimwarer) construction came to a halt in 2019 when former President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered their cancellation due to egregious financial mismanagement.
To prevent the waste of public funds, Uhuru ordered the project to be restarted at a cost that is half of what was originally estimated.
As part of his plan to achieve food security in the North Rift and other regions of Kenya, President Ruto promised during his campaigns to secure the construction of the two dams.
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