Residents in Kisumu County have protested against construction of a sewage treatment plant in Korando area.
A lawyer representing residents accused the Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency of targeting 78 acres of their land to implement the Sh 800million project, without following due process.
The project is part of a Sh7 billion initiative financed by the Kenyan government, European Union, European Investment Bank and the French Development Agency. The fund will also support renewed water supply and sanitation services for more than 350,000 Kisumu residents. The plant will treat 4,000 cubic meters of waste water per day. While the project was to include public participation as expected by law, lawyer Raymond Olendo said the agency of side-lined over 10,000 of them.
Improve water and sanitation services
“It is suspicious and malicious that the agency is relying on a few handpicked individuals to implement a project while edging out members of the community,” said lawyer Raymond Olendo.
Mr Olendo further questioned the rationale for establishing another sewage treatment plant with Nyalenda Wastewater Pond and Kisat Conventional Sewerage Plant yet to be fully utilised. Nyalenda Pond has a capacity of 15,000 cubic meters per day while Kisat has a capacity of 8,000, but they have not been operating optimally.
“Korando residents have donated land to major institutions like the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kodiaga Prison and the Kisumu Molasses Plant, but have nothing to show for it. There has been a lot of activity lately, with people’s land haphazardly demarcated and beacons placed,” said Gerald Gawo, one of the residents.
The agency seeks to improve water and sanitation services and ease the burden on the two existing amenities, which manage 18 percent of homes connected to the public sewerage system. With a population of over 600,000, most of the residents are forced to use alternatives such as pit latrines and septic tanks.
