A civil society organization in Kisumu plans to initiate a public debate on the rising cases of lack of clean water in Kisumu County.
Executive Director of Transform Empowerment for Action Initiative (TEAM) George Collins Owuor said they have received complaints from locals about water shortages.
Mr Owuor said most residents in the estates within Kisumu get erratic water supply and others do not totally have piped water.
“There must be a conversation around water in this lakeside city of Kisumu. The city sits next to the second largest fresh water lake in the world yet there are cases of lack of clean water,” he said.
He said this is so despite a lot of allocation in the county budget for the department of water yet several families in the county have no access to water.
“We see huge amounts of money being allocated every financial year to address water concerns yet there is nothing to show for it,” he said.
Speaking to the press in Kisumu on Wednesday during a forum on budget making process, Owuor said they will analyze the water sector in Kisumu in a public forum soon.
He said they will invite the Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company (KIWASCO), the county government, water vendors, the public and all stakeholders to find a lasting solution.
“This will be the first public forum of its kind to take place, water is essential in everybody’s life and there is need to have a discussion over it so that sticking issues are addressed once for all,” he said.