Residents of Tana river county who were hard hit by the recent floods have signed a petition to the national assembly to compel the Kenya power generating company (KenGen) to compensate the flood victims.
Speaking after visiting cholera patients admitted at the Madogo health centre isolation camp and later touring the Madogo displaced flood victims, Garsen MP Ali Wario said he will be tabling the petition at the national assembly to force KenGen to pay for damages caused by flood waters from their seven folks dams in Kiambere.
Wario who was accompanied by Tana River county senator Juma Wario said that if KenGen does not respond to the petition, the residents will have no option but to seek court redress on the same.
“The livelihoods of resident living along the river Tana were completely destroyed by the floods after KenGen released excess from their Masinga dams that caused massive flooding downstream that led to lose of human lives and livestock,” Wario said.
“We are perturbed as area residents by the manner in which KenGen has been handling the matter. We have seen any top official from KenGen visiting the flood victims. KenGen is making billions of shillings from the dams while they have no programme from their corporate social responsibility for Tana River residents,” he added.
The MP said this is not the first time the floods have wrecked havoc in Tana River adding that the problem is now becoming a yearly occurrence.
“KenGen is aware of the massive loses floods from their dams is causing to the residents of Tana River. Why they have not set aside funds to compensate victims is a concern we the leaders are taking very seriously,” he noted.
On his part senator Juma Wario said that over 60,000 people were displaced by the floods and requires urgent assistance to rebuild their lives.
The senator wondered why the government decided to compensate the victims of the Solai dam whereas the dam is a private property.
“The government should have forced the owners of the Solai dam to compensate the Solai victims instead of using such huge resources for the same. We are not saying it’s wrong for the government to compensate its citizens for the calamity but we want the same to be prioritized,” he said.
The two leaders accused the ministry of education for turning a blind eye on the plight of schools submerged in flood waters and were not re-opened for the second term.
The leaders who spoke after visiting the flooded Hatata primary school in Mororo said over 20 other schools in the county are still closed down due to the floods.
“We are calling on education CS Amina Mohamed to personally visit these schools to have a firsthand glimpse of the suffering students and pupils affected by the floods are going through.
The Garsen MP said the cholera outbreak in Madogo is a sign of many other water borne diseases to come.
“There is a likely of malaria and other water borne diseases outbreak. We urge the government and other donor agencies to supply mosquito nets and drugs to prevent the dreaded malaria disease,” Wario added.