County Government of Laikipia

Residents from the seven Solio villages have a reason to smile following the restructuring of water tariffs to enable them do small irrigation.

The minimum chargeable amount will drop from Ksh. 350 to a graduated tariff with Kshs. 200 being the minimum monthly charge. This will accommodate majority of households.

This move will enable many of the households in the seven villages utilize the water to the maximum.

In a meeting last week to assess the impact of the project on the residents, attended Deputy Governor John Mwaniki, Water CECM Njenga Kahiro, Nawasco representatives, among other government officials, the residents expressed their gratitude for the reduction in the cost.

Ms. Ann Wangui, a resident of Village 4, said the move will enable parents to keep their young adults busy by giving them portions of land where they can grow their own crops for domestic and commercial purposes.

This, she said, would improve on reduction of drug use among the youths and insecurity issues.

Now that this water is affordable, our children will be able to make money for themselves and stop indulging in crime said Wangui.

Key among the goals of this project is to transform the lives of Solio residents from relying on relief food to become horticultural producers with higher incomes.

Some of the 1,800 households already connected have established drip irrigation plots with tomatoes, onions among other food crops.

This is expected to greatly improve their living standards.

The Deputy Governor said government is committed to provision of clean and affordable water to all citizens of Laikipia.

We shall continuously improve this model so as to empower the citizens of Solio to make sure they move from relief food dependency to food security as envisioned in the Big 4 Agenda, he said.

Mr. Kahiro said the aim of the Solio Water Project was to transform and improve the quality of lives of the citizens who suffered adverse effects of drought.

(Source: CGL E-Newsletter)