A section of Siaya County MPs have condemned Deputy President William Ruto for commissioning the Lower Nzoia Irrigation Project without consulting the area legislators.
While speaking in a fundraiser in Ugenya constituency, Ugunja MP James Opiyo Wandayi raised concerns that the project will displace several residents of the constituencies who are yet to be compensated.
"We will not accept this because it will displace a lot of our people. As we speak, a majority of them are yet to be compensated. Together with my counterparts MPs David Ochieng and Sam Atandi, we will hold consultative meetings to seek a way forward,” Wandayi threatened.
He asked the National government, through the National Irrigation Board (NIB), to compensate the people whose parcels of land will be affected by the Lower Nzoia Irrigation Scheme.
On Friday last week, the Deputy President toured Western Kenya where he launched the Ksh7 billion lower Nzoia irrigation project.
The project will cover Ugunja, Alego Usonga, and Budalangi constituencies.
The Ksh5.8 billion irrigation projects at the Lower Nzoia Scheme was set to kick off in October 2018.
However, it delayed for several years due to issues of land compensation.
It is aimed at boosting rice production and preventing destructive floods in the area.
The lower Nzoia project is funded by the World Bank and German government at Ksh3.9 billion and Ksh1.4 billion respectively and is part of the Big 4 Agenda, meant to increase acreage under irrigation.
