A Member of Parliament has attributed an acute water shortage experienced by residents of Yatta Sub-County in Machakos to uncontrolled distribution of water sourced from upper parts of rivers.
According to Yatta MP Francis Mwangangi, water management bodies in the area should be held responsible for the drying up of two major rivers in his area namely Thingithu and Ura.
“I have summoned water officials to explain why they are not considering the welfare of people living downstream where residents experienced hunger as a result of inadequate rainfall last season. The drying up of these rivers has aggravated the drought," said the legislator.
On Tuesday, residents threatened to dismantle all intakes drawing water from rivers used for irrigation upstream saying they were being denied access.
He called on the county government of Machakos to support the locals with water dowsers to affected areas while promising to liaison with the national government for more help.
He added that his office has set aside Sh40 million for the purchase of relief food and the county government has provided 1500 bags of maize that national Government administration officers (Ngao) would distribute.