Water covers about 71 percent of the Earth’s surface as the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all Earth’s water, despite this fresh water available is just about 0.5% of the Earth’s water which is in turn quite minimal hence the Ministry of Water Sanitation and Irrigation is advancing response to the water scarcity challenge in the country through a strategic partnership with the private sector.
The Water, Sanitation & Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Hon. Alice Wahome called on urgency in response to this matter entailing the embrace of Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives with the aim of providing sustainable and reliable water services to all Kenyan citizens. Addressing the perpetual water scarcity that has been evident in the country she believes is going to be addressed in the initiative dubbed 100 Dam Initiative.
This initiative, the 100 Dam Initiative, is to be funded by private investors, at an estimated cost of KES 1.7 trillion. The 100 PPP Dams Initiative seeks private sector capital and technology through a Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Maintain, and Transfer model as they are developed across the country.
“Understanding the urgency of this challenge it’s vital for collaboration with the private sector to effectively tackle it. Through PPPs, the Ministry can leverage the expertise, resources, and innovation of private entities to enhance water infrastructure and service delivery, The program intends to provide clean drinking to an additional 6 million households, bring one million acres under irrigation, and generate 554 MW hydropower,” said Hon. Wahome.
The Water, Sanitation & Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Hon. Alice Wahome
The Ministry seeks to integrate technology and sustainable approaches to optimize water usage, reduce wastage, and ensure long-term water security for the nation. Thereby linkages with the PPPs will foster the adoption of innovative technologies and sustainable practices in water management. This includes the implementation of efficient irrigation systems, rainwater harvesting projects, and water conservation initiatives.
“Firstly, it focuses on expanding water infrastructure, including the construction and rehabilitation of dams, pipelines, and water treatment facilities. These initiatives will increase the availability and accessibility of clean water to communities across the country. Emphasis will be placed on community participation, education, and training programs as they will empower local communities to take ownership of their water resources, promote responsible water usage, and enable the sustainable management of water systems,” she added.
The CS further revealed the unveiling of a program with the investors and partners that will plant 250 million trees in the areas dam drainage areas, and soil erosion barriers to restore areas along the rivers. This is in response to the degraded state of the water catchment areas, as soil carried from farmlands is carried away and accumulated at the bottom of the dams in turn resulting in poor water quality. This consequently causes the high cost of water treatment as well as the short service life of water storage facilities.
In addition, the CS reiterated that in all this by adopting innovative financing models and optimizing operational efficiency, the Ministry aims to ensure that water services are accessible and affordable to all Kenyan citizens, irrespective of their socioeconomic backgrounds.
According to the Principal Secretary of, State Department for Water and Sanitation, Dr. Kiprono Ronoh P. his conviction is that the private sector of the Government’s commitment to working with them to address water scarcity challenges.
“The Ministry is keen to work with different expertise and technology providers to co-create PPP models best suited for different circumstances – both large and small rural, including operation and management contracts to address the challenges of Non- Revenue Water,” he said.
Principal Secretary of, the State Department for Water and Sanitation, Dr. Kiprono Ronoh P.
The Meteorological Department has announced that the rainfall being experienced in most parts of the country will continue through the week.
In an update issued on Tuesday, the weatherman said spatial distribution is likely to continue being poor in Coast, South-eastern lowlands, North-eastern and North-western regions of the country.
“Isolated storms are likely to occur in some parts of the Highlands West of the Rift Valley, the Lake Victoria Basin, the Central and South Rift Valley,” said the Met department.
At the same time, the Highlands East of the Rift Valley, the South-eastern Lowlands, the coast and North-eastern Kenya regions will also experience isolated storms.
Previously, the Met department had predicted below-average to no rainfall in October, November, and December which have long been wet seasons in the past.
“The Climate Outlook for the October-November-December (OND) 2022 Short Rains season indicates that most parts of the country are likely to experience depressed rainfall with higher probabilities over the eastern sector. There is a good chance that most of the country will experience drier-than-average conditions,” noted the Met department in September.
Inspired by an active and engaged community that is passionate about making a difference and having a positive impact on its world, TikTok is at the forefront of giving its community the platform to help drive awareness and advocacy around sustainability and climate action through TikTok #ClimateAction global campaign.
Through the platform, people and communities sharing the same vision from all around the world are connected, empowered and inspired to unleash the power of creativity to drive positive change for a greener and more sustainable future.
Now, in support of the COP27 gathering, TikTok is launching the #ClimateAction global campaign this November by inviting creators and communities around the world to join the conversation and make a difference by taking action.
This is part of TikTok’s ongoing commitment to encourage communities to unlock the power of the platform to use creativity to drive positive, meaningful and lasting conversations.
Furthermore, TikTok, in partnership with Crtve Development featuring Greenpeace Africa’s August Maluka, Community Manager, singer-songwriter and poet Busiswa Gqulu will host a LIVE discussion in-app around climate change and the effects it has on local communities on Tuesday, 15 November 2022 at 17:30. To join the conversation, the TikTok community is encouraged to get on to TikTok and follow the @CrtvDevelopment TikTok account to register.
Boniswa Sidwaba, TikTok Content Operations Lead for TikTok in Africa, says that TikTok is committed to playing an active role in building an environmentally aware generation.
“We do this by providing a platform for reputable organizations and community members to discuss, debate and share information, which in turn has helped TikTok become a top destination to learn important topics such as climate and sustainability. We have an active group of climate advocates, experts and institutions dedicated to creating educational content and raising climate literacy.”
Speaking on the creative partnership with TikTok, Dr. Okito Wedi, Founder and CEO of Crtve Development, says “the need for creative partnerships such as this has never been more imperative in the fight for climate justice, particularly on the African continent. Art and creativity have the power to inspire engagement at the community and policy level, leading to action, change and impact. Through creativity, we can propagate feelings of belonging to a collective community. This relationship between creativity and belonging is fundamental to taking action and ownership of one’s own life, community, and country. Creativity is a first and necessary step towards social change”.
“With innovative in-app tools and partnerships, TikTok prioritizes keeping its community informed and protected while supporting climate literacy and tackling climate misinformation and disinformation,”Sidwaba further adds.
Climate action content continues to rise as TikTok’s growing community uses its favorite entertainment platform to inspire hope, positivity and action. Kenyan content creators have taken up this opportunity to highlight the impacts of climate change, offering solutions to the TikTok community on how they could make a positive impact in their personal capacities, in simple and fun ways.
EABL Foundation has donated Ksh. 1 million for the conservation of Karura Forest as part of its environmental conservation agenda.
The Ksh. 1 million by EABL Foundation will sponsor the Friends of Karura (FKF) 2022 race. The run is in its fourth year and will take place on Sunday, September 25 2022 at the Karura Forest.
Proceeds from the race will go towards maintaining and securing the Forest, which is Nairobi’s biggest indigenous forest and the most visited running destination.
Speaking during a press conference to announce this sponsorship, EABL Group Corporate Relations Director, Eric Kiniti, noted that all stakeholders must unite and cooperate toward positive change through the conservation of green spaces.
“We recognize the immense value of the environment, especially the urban green spaces. These spaces have multiple benefits such as the social benefits of boosting mental and physical health and environmental benefits such as reducing air pollution, enhancing bio-diversity, and mitigating the impacts of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, extreme rainfall, and flooding among others.”
KBL is a long-term partner of the Friends of Karura and the Kenya Forest Service and has supported the conservation of the Karura Forest for over a decade now. This includes the fencing of the Karura Forest at a cost of Ksh. 8.5 million.
The FKF 2022 race will have a family-friendly format with 2km, 5km, 10km 21km, and 42km race options. The participants will enjoy a cold Tusker lite as they participate in a Berlin Marathon watch party on a large screen at the race’s finish line. 100 KBL staff will be participating in the race this year.
