The Government of Japan has raised concerns about a delay in the resumption of works on the stalled Thiba Dam project in Kirinyaga County, which it had financed at a cost of Ksh12 billion.
Reports from Business Daily on Wednesday, December 11, indicated that Japanese Ambassador to Kenya, Horie Ryoichi, blamed the delays on a difference of opinion between stakeholders and land issues.
"The project is indeed delaying a little bit but I believe the problems affecting its construction will be resolved," Ryoichi was quoted during a tour in Ngurubani Town, Kirinyaga County.
The project was launched on November 23, 2017, by President Uhuru Kenyatta accompanied by Deputy President William Ruto and the area Governor Anne Waiguru.
Reports from the Daily Nation in 2017 indicated that the Ksh12 billion dam’s funding was to come from Japan while the Kenyan government would contribute Ksh5 billion.
President Kenyatta had stated that the purpose of the project was to boost food security, not only in the region but also in the entire country and act as a solution to water shortage in Mwea.
“Food security is a key agenda in our manifesto and this is a first step towards that. We do not want to be importing rice from foreign nations or seeking food aid every time there is drought. We need to work to become self-sufficient as a nation,” he was quoted
The project was, however, halted in November 2019, after complaints from the contractor that Ksh1 billion had not been released by the government.
This move was reported to have forced the contractors, identified as Strabag, to send workers home and scale down operations.
Water Principal Secretary Joseph Irungu, however, assured the residents that the government was set on remitting the funds to ensure that the project was back on track.
"The money to pay the contractor will be factored into the supplementary budget and there should be no cause for alarm," he stated.
