Former Kenya Airways Chief Executive Titus Naikuni has been appointed by Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku to lead the newly created water company in the county.
Ole Lenku collapsed the four existing county water service companies and announced the establishment of Kajiado Water and Sewerage Company which he tasked with improving water access in the county from 30 percent to 65 percent within four years.
The collapsed agencies' operations were said to be riddled with cases of corruption and mismanagement which negatively impacted service delivery.
“The county has had four water and sewerage companies; these are Oloolaiser, Olkejuado, Oldonyo Orok and Nol-Turesh /Loitokitok. The companies have had a myriad of challenges that include massive water pilferage and lack of reliability. In fact, one of them has more than 70 per cent of its water not paid for over the years.
“As a county, we have, therefore, arrived at the conclusion that these water companies are not sustainable and cannot, in the prevailing situation, be relied on to raise the water access to our desired 60 per cent in the next four years,” a statement from Ole Lenku read in part.
[caption caption="Governor Joseph Ole Lenku"]
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Ole Lenku noted that Kajiado residents lost several productive hours searching for water, asserting the need for the new body to put impactful measures in place.
He explained that by having a central body, matters of funding and governance could be handled more effectively.
The Naikuni-led team is mandated to identify new water sources in the county and figure out how to harness them to bridge the existing water deficit.
They will also be expected to network and fundraise from development partners, upgrade existing water systems and deploy new technologies to improve the tapping and utilization of water resources.
A mechanical engineer by profession, Naikuni also chairs the board of the Rift Valley Railways (RVR) Consortium.
[caption caption="Titus Naikuni"]
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