Construction of the Siyoi-Muruny water project in West Pokot, Kenya is set to resume. This is after the government availed funds to revive the stalled project. Furthermore, Rift valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya held a consultative meeting with the contractor to sort out underlying issues and agreed that contraction works will resume immediately.
According to Mr. Natembeya, the contractor was initially paid US $6.4m for the implementation of the project and despite the delay the quality of work done so far is commendable.
He further urged contractors undertaking government projects in West Pokot County to up their game since the development projects will only benefit the residents once they are complete. He also urged them to stop abandoning their projects due to delay in payments because the abandonment attracts vandalism and as a result the projects end up becoming more expensive.
The Siyoi-Muruny water project which was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2015 and earmarked for completion in 2018 is expected to benefit 350,000 households once it’s complete.
The proposed Muruny Dam is located near Kapsait Primary School at Murkokoi Center which is approximately 43km from Kapenguria Town. The project area lies within the Rift Valley Drainage Basin. River Muruny emanates from Cherangany Hills and flows in a North Eastern direction before finally draining into Lake Turkana.
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Abandonment of the Siyoi-Muruny water project
Late last year, Members of the National Assembly Special Funds Accounts Committee were baffled after discovering that the contractor had gone missing for more than a year after receiving part of the contract payment.
The team which included Endebbes MP Robert Pokosse, his Kapenguria Counterpart Mark Lomunokol and Kuria MP Marua Kitayama had gone to inspect the stalled project. Pokosse disclosed that on arrival at the scene, they found that the project was only 10% complete even though the contractor had received half the funds to facilitate its construction.
