Few months after the launch of Sh2.2 billion Yatta Canal rehabilitation project, users have stated fears that the canal is prone to blockage again if the County government and the area MP Francis Mwangangi do not intervene.
Speaking on Wednesday during a forum with its members, Yatta Canal Users Association (YCUA) Chairman Peter Kyalo lamented that the water level in the Canal had gone down after the first phase of reconstruction in the upper part of the canal.
“There are parts of the canal that have been filled with mud as the contractors have taken too long on the upper session of the canal. This has caused a drop in the water levels and narrowed it. We ask Mwangangi to intervene and ensure the contractors are monitored so that they do professional job to avoid a situation where the canal will get blocked in a few years after rehabilitation is completed.” said Chairman Kyalo.
Speaking to this writer, Muthini Kakula who is a retired KDF officer who has ventured into French beans farming and tomato farming along the Canal in Kondo Village said that, “The water level has gone down making it not possible for water to reach the pipe, a situation which has led to use of machines to pump water during irrigation which is quite expensive.”
Kakula claimed that Yatta Canal is one of the main sources of livelihoods in the area, adding that the fact is evidenced by a family of four who dropped out at primary school level due to poverty, but is now making a living out of French beans farming (using the Canal) that are exported.
Ndile, Kivati, Kyalo and Musyoki are brothers and Kondo Village residents who have made a living out of horticulture farming with the help of irrigation of the canal. The four rented farms near the Canal and received a capital from an export company together with fertilisers and inputs.
The YCUA Chairman at the same time called upon the contractors to employ the youth in the area in the activities so that the residents can benefit from the project.