Deputy Governor Abdi Dagane has urged the county assembly to fast-track the water bill that is meant to regulate water usage in both rural and urban centers in the county.
Speaking to the press today after inspecting and opening renovated elevated water tanks in Bulla Quba, Dagane said that the bill which means to curb illegal water connections, water billing and penalties for defaulters among others was long overdue.
The deputy governor said the bill that is being drafted by the executive will ready within the two months and will go a long way in streamlining water management in the county.
“For a long time we had issues with the manner in which the water sector is run that has led to residents suffering from lack of water thanks to gaps in the sector,” Dagane said.
“This is what we want to correct going forward. This is a crucial area that is ignored given that water provision for citizens is a right and not a privilege,” he added.
His sentiments comes barely a month after Garissa Water and Sewerage Company (GAWASCO) said it was losing over shs 25 million monthly due to illegal water connections, corruption, and failure by some residents to pay for water bills among other challenges.
Dagane said that the bill will address all these issues.
“I want to forewarn those residents who have made it a habit of manipulating institutions for their selfish gains that those days are long gone,” he said.
“Now that we have connected 90 percent of Garissa town residents to clean and safe drinking water, we want to embark a programme to ensure the same services are available at all the sub-county headquarters to start with,” he noted.
Nominated MCA Amran Mohamed urged the county to prioritize water saying that women suffer the most when the commodity is not there.
She said that the members are ready to work with the executive to ensure service delivery in key sectors such as water, health, infrastructure are not compromised.
“I am appealing to the residents to work closely with both the executive and the assembly because its only by doing so we will as a people make progress,” Amran said.