Wajir residents to benefit from World Bank water project

Wajir County residents are set to benefit from a World Bank funded water project.

The project will see the sinking of boreholes in different areas of the county which are expected to go a long way in mitigating the effects of drought.

This, Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi said will help reduce the effects prolonged droughts have had on the residents and animals.

According to Abdullahi, this is one of the many projects that the county has embarked on to uplift the lives of the county.

The project is being implemented by the Wajir County Water and Sewerage Company (WAJWASCO).

The county and the World Bank have been conducting public participation exercise forums in order to map out the areas where the boreholes will sink.

"The project is environmentally friendly and promotes clean energy and will reduce transborder conflicts. It will also improve health and sanitation and reduce waterborne diseases," said Roble Subow, the Wajwasco Managing Director.

Subow said the addition of more boreholes in the County is good news for the residents and the company as well since they will be in a better position to serve them with clean water.

The project by the World Bank is part of the Horn of Africa transformative program that they are undertaking.

Abdi Ali, a Wajir resident, welcomed the project saying with readily accessible water they will no longer be travelling long distances with their animals.

He says that with water they can also turn to other income generating projects like farming to supplement their earnings from the livestock trade.

The county is among the most affected by drought and efforts by both national and county governments are yet to address the issue of water shortage.

Governor Abdullahi said that he is willing to work together with President William Ruto led Kenya Kwanza administration to address the issue of water shortage in the county.