The Kenyan-German water and wastewater management week is taking place in Nairobi is hosting beginning Monday.
Several Water experts from Germany are in the Kenya to train their counterparts on the latest trends and technology in water and wastewater management.
The water and wastewater management week event comes at a time when the Ministry of Water and Irrigation is being asked by investors to plough into the water industry to keep it afloat.
The water sector is struggling to fill the gap of a rapidly bulging population, with most of the water utilities running on very old equipment and outdated technology.
A recent research done by the Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb) showed that many of the 91 water utilities supplying the country’s water cannot afford maintenance and operation costs and they require frequent boosts in terms of cash.
Eugene Wamalwa, the Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary will officially launch the training week at the Kenya Water Institute in South C and will be joined by Mrs Jutta Frasch, the German envoy to Kenya.
Ms Maren Diale-Schellschmidt, Country Director of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Kenya is heading German delegation in Kenya.
“Water and sanitation is obviously a big challenge here in Kenya and we are urging the private sector to pay more attention to the sector,” Ms Diale Schellschmidt said.
“This is just one of the many projects that Kenya has partnered with Germany on in our five decade cooperation.
“We will not just be exchanging knowledge about new technology in water and wastewater management but we will also discuss business and investment options,” she said.
Some 1.6 million Kenyans living in poor conditions in urban centers have since 2009 benefited from ready access to clean water through the cooperation of Kenyan and German.
The five-day high-level training will boost knowledge transfer, exchange of experiences and discuss strategies in matters relating to sustainable water management solutions.
Several workshops will be held throughout the week, focusing on drilling technologies, wastewater treatment and re-use, wastewater and sewage solutions, and how to start a business in the water sector, among other topics.
