Ngoliba residents elated by irrigation project poised to turn around their fortunes.
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| Fountain of Life: Water jets out of a pipe signalling renewed hope for Ngoliba residents after the revival of a stalled water project by Thika Town MP Eng. Patrick Wainaina. |
The long-awaited
dream of the residents of Ndula, Magogoni and Ngoliba locations of Thika East
sub-county to be self-reliant on food has finally come true.
For the first time
in almost a decade, the residents could not hide their joy as irrigation water
sprinkled on their farms following the intervention of the area MP Eng. Patrick
Wainaina.
Through his Jungle
Foundation, the MP has already pumped in over Ksh. 30 million into the project
that had stalled since 2015 after what is suspected to be misappropriation of
public funds.
Ngoliba Ward is one
of the wards in Thika Town Constituency with a history of numerous cases of
starvation, especially during dry spell when the residents depend on food
donations to survive.
While speaking over
the weekend during an inspection tour to establish the progress of the project,
Wainaina noted that Ngoliba and Gatuanyaga Wards had the potential of feeding
the whole county through irrigation farming, having being blessed with two
permanent rivers, Chania and Athi Rivers, whose water can be utilised for
irrigation and assist thousands of residents living beside the rivers, rather
than its water going to waste.
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| Thika MP Patrick Wainaina plants some sweet potato vines in one of the pieces of land that have already benefited from the new Ndumagu Irrigation Water Project. |
“There is a lot of
agricultural potential in Ngoliba and Gatuanyaga Wards that can feed the area, ensure
food security and eradicate hunger affecting some parts of Kiambu and Machakos
counties,” he said.
(Related story: MP kick-starts revival of stalled Sh. 400m water project.)
Wainaina was happy with the progress so far adding that his team intended to use another Ksh. 10 million to ensure that the water was now supplied to all the targeted 10,000 homesteads.
Wainaina was happy with the progress so far adding that his team intended to use another Ksh. 10 million to ensure that the water was now supplied to all the targeted 10,000 homesteads.
He said that the
next phase of the project would see him assist the residents to grow crops for
both and commercial purposes.
“I hope to create
about 10,000 new jobs with this project through the growth of cash crops and
development of micro-industries for value addition. This way, we will be able
to turn around the economy of this region and improve the standards of living
for our people,” he said.
The MP also called
on the office of the DPP to investigate officials of the National Irrigation
Board (NIB) and all those who were mandated to oversee the implementation of
this project to establish whether there occurred any form of misappropriation of
the Ksh. 400 million that had been allocated for the project.
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| Eng. Wainaina assists a Ngoliba resident of Ngoliba to draw water from one of the area water connection points. |
Wangari says that
women are most hit by the scarcity of water in the area as they have been trekking
for long distances to fetch water from Rivers Chania and Athi.
“We have been
depending on food rations from the government even though the area is very
productive. With this water, we are going to feed ourselves and sell the
surplus to get money for other uses,” explained Wangari.
Paul Kogi plans to
embark on different farming activities that would not only guarantee food to
eat but also generate some income to fend for his family.
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| Eng. Wainaina getting a brief from one of the officers in-charge of water services in Ngoliba region. |
In 2015, the
government allocated KES. 409 million to the project and released KES.
300million for the first phase, with the entire project scheduled to be
complete by the end of 2016.
However, three years
down the line, none of the residents has tasted the first drop of this
prestigious investment.
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