This archive report was first published on 30 October 2019.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced a significant investment in Kenya's sewerage infrastructure, with the government set to spend over Sh80 billion in the next three years.
Speaking at the official opening of the Water and Sanitation Conference at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, President Kenyatta emphasized the importance of improving access to sewerage services, which currently stands at around 25 percent.
He noted that the government aims to increase access to sewerage services to around 40 percent by 2022, with the ultimate goal of achieving universal coverage by 2030.
President Kenyatta also directed the Ministry of Education to introduce a compulsory curriculum on water and sanitation in all schools, in a bid to promote awareness and good practices among children from a young age.
He further emphasized the need to reduce water wastage in the country, and to strengthen regulatory institutions such as the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and the Water Resources Authority (WRA) to enforce regulations and prevent pollution of water resources.
“Industries are required to include pre-treatment facilities in their premises to ensure acceptable standards of waste water are discharged into the sewerage system and to the environment and the rivers,” said President Kenyatta.
He also urged the Water Services Providers to upscale waste water management through the use of prudent methods, including swift responses to damages on sewer lines and related installations to curb spillage of raw sewerage into water ways.
Present at the conference were Cabinet Secretaries Simon Chelugui (Water, Sanitation and Irrigation) and Adan Mohammed (East African Community and Regional Development), as well as Senate and National Assembly chairpersons of Committees on Lands, Environment and Natural Resources Paul Githiomo and Kareke Mbiuki.
