Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana has launched one more ambitious project for his County residents.
According to the County's 2019 Annual Development Plan, one of their strategic priorities will involve water harvesting, storage, treatment and distribution.
Makueni County will spend Kshs750 million to construct one mega dam, seven medium-size ones, 41 small-sized dams.
Besides, the County is set to drill and equip 15 boreholes and lay 500 Kms of water distribution pipelines.
"It will also connect 1 urban centre with reliable piped water and develop sewerage and waste management systems in 6 urban centres," the Development Plan reads.
The Department of Finance and Socio-Economic Planning notes that the plan will address the limited access to portable water.
Currently, the distance to the nearest water source in the semi-arid county stands at 6 Km radius which is an improvement from 8 Km in 2013.
The project comes shortly after Kivutha unveiled a new 120-bed Mother and Child Hospital at Wote.
Officially launched by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta on December 6, 2018, the hospital was constructed and equipped at a cost of Kshs135 Million and has a capacity to accommodate 120 adults and 80 neonates.
The facility which is expected to be a regional specialist referral facility for maternal and child health services was executed in the last four financial years with county resources and no external funding.
One of its outstanding features is the aqua-birth service, the first in a public hospital in the country and an ultramodern newborn unit with Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with baby cots, incubators and phototherapy unit.
