Kenya's journey towards achieving universal water coverage by 2030 is underway, with the government acknowledging a significant financing gap in the sector. According to Andrew Tuimur, chief administrative secretary with the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation, the current sector funding stands at less than 40 percent of the sector requirements.
Tuimur revealed that Kenya's water and sanitation services indicators are among the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, with only 60 percent of the population having access to improved water services and 40 percent to improved sanitation.
Efforts are underway to create the right incentives to attract private investment into areas such as efficient water use technologies, wastewater recycling, and water storage and conservation solutions. This includes exploring alternative modes of financing water and sanitation development, such as public-private partnerships (PPP) mechanisms.
The government is also supporting initiatives that encourage water service providers to become borrowers in the Kenyan commercial market for the financing of their water and sanitation infrastructure.
