Wa Iria says “Enough is Enough” as Murang’a continue the water fight.

Murang'a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria.

There is no end in sight to the water crisis in Murang’a County with the dispute pitting Governor Mwangi Wa Iria against former Equity Bank Group Chairman Peter Munga painting the grim picture of the perennial yet unresolved issue of the management of water companies in the county. 

While speaking exclusively to Thika Town Today on Thursday, Gov. Wa Iria warned that his government would no longer sit back and watch as a ‘few individuals’ exploited Murang’a residents in what he described as a devolved function of provision of clean and safe drinking water.

He blamed the current water crisis on private water companies whose sole aim was to fleece people instead of providing water which was a fundamental right of every citizen.

“How can a person wake one day and decide to decide to deny water services to the residents? This is unacceptable! Water provision is a responsibility of the devolved governments and we cannot allow an individual to trade with water. I have said enough is enough!” scoffed the governor.

Wa Iria accused the management of Murang’a Water And Sewerage Company (MUWASCO) of lacking transparency and accountability in the managing public resources.

“What we are demanding as the county government is accountability and transparency in the management of public resources. The company has borrowed loans amounting into billions which is paid by the public and therefore it does not qualify to be termed as a private entity,” said Wa Iria.

Consequently, the governor instructed all Murang’a residents to stop paying any water dues to MUWASCO until an all-inclusive stakeholders’ meeting was convened to deliberate on the way forward in the matter.

“Water in Murang’a County from today henceforth is free and no one should charge you for water until the day I tell you pay. We must first sit down as Murang’a people and MUWASCO and deliberate on how we want water services to be handled,” he said.

He instructed all those whose homes are not connected to water to register with his office so as to enable his government to embark on a proper mechanism to ensure every citizen got access to clean and safe drinking water.