Nairobi: The State Department for Irrigation, through the National Land Commission (NLC), is set to commence the payout of Sh600 million to the Mwache Multi-purpose Dam Project Affected Persons (PAPs), as the multi-billion project rapidly takes shape. The compensation conundrum had threatened to derail the transformative Sh20 billion project that aims to sustainably improve water security, build climate resilience, increase bulk water supply, and enhance access to water and sanitation in the Coastal Region.
According to Kenya News Agency, Irrigation Principal Secretary (PS) CPA Ephantus Kimotho acknowledged that compensating the over 4,000 PAPs posed a major challenge at the start of the dam’s construction, with a total of Sh4.6 billion required for compensation and resettlement. The previous administration disbursed Sh1.6 billion, while the current Kenya Kwanza administration developed a comprehensive Resettlement Action Plan to clear the outstanding balance of Sh3 billion.
‘Sh1 billion has already been paid, and people have been compensated,’ PS Kimotho said, adding that the NLC has received Sh600 million, which will be disbursed to PAPs next week. ‘Beginning July, the balance of Sh1.4 billion will be disbursed, and we expect all the PAPs to be paid by December 2025,’ added the PS during the groundbreaking of Mwache Health facility, a component of the dam project, accompanied by Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani.
The project is designed to have a main dam, a lower check dam, and an upper check dam. The main dam, with a height of 84 metres and a crest length of 526 metres, will have a capacity of 127 million cubic metres of water. It will harness water flow from the Mwache River basin for the domestic water supply. The PS noted that the main dam is 36 per cent complete. Initially, when the project encountered hiccups, it stalled at four per cent, but now works are progressing well after the challenges were addressed through collaboration between the State Department for Irrigation, County Government, and the community.
‘We have been able to see a great improvement from 4 per cent to 36 per cent, but in one of the components – the lower check dam – we are actually at 59 per cent and are set to be complete by December,’ said the PS. The main dam, with a water storage capacity of 136 million cubic meters, will supply over 186,000 cubic meters daily of water to Mombasa County, ending the port city’s 75 per cent water deficit.
To enhance food security, the 8.6 million cubic meter lower check dam will not only help in desilting, but its water will be used for irrigation through solar pumping. At the lower check dam, deep mechanical rumbles dominate the air as the constructor in March commenced round-the-clock hauling of roller-compacted concrete, a critical phase that will continue uninterrupted for the next 18 months.
The project also has immense benefits for Kwale County, including the expansion of the Kwale Urban water supply from the current 1,000 cubic meters to 9,000 cubic meters. ‘The main purpose is to control siltation, but over and above that, the lower check dam will be used for irrigation, which will be beneficial to the county. There is a team that is designing it and in the next three months, we should have a very clear plan,’ stated PS Kimotho.
The PS further said that eight water pans have been constructed that will be used by the community for irrigation. Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani welcomed the modern hospital and staff housing construction, the Early Childhood Development Education Centre, and a 15-kilometre road. ‘The County looks forward to benefiting from irrigation from the lower check dam. We will also devise ways of increasing the supply of water.’ The hospital, she noted, will not only benefit the residents of Kasemeni division but also the neighbouring Kilifi County.