Maua town perennial floods irritating residents
By correspondent
Although the national government constructed a sewerage and drainage system to cover the busy Maua town, residents still complain of incessant floods.
Every time it rains the headquarters of Igembe South Sub County, famous for its 24-hour economy mostly driven by the miraa trade, large sections of the town become inhabitable.
Businesses, churches, residences and other facilities at Gaciongo area, the entrance to Maua, is rendered Jeremy Kimathi and Veronica Koome, who operate kiosks at Gaciongo lamented the state of the area, especially during downpours.
“When it rains on Sundays we are not able to attend church, and we are not alone. There is quite a big number of homes, churches, and businesses here and it beats us why the county and national government have not come to our aid, all these years,” said Mr. Kimathi.
Mrs. Koome said his shop becomes marooned when it rains, and they have to vacate the premises since it also serves as a home.
“You can imagine when it rains at night we have to spend the night in water, like water animals! Unfortunately, we suffer inconveniences during heavy rains. All the water from the hills collects here, forming an island,” she said.
d inhabitable and people have to wade through the water to get in-and-out.
It is a situation that has angered residents, including Igembe South MP John Paul Mwirigi, who complained that the sewerage and drainage works were sub-standard, and did not cover the entire area it was meant to cover.
Mr. Mwirigi called for an audit of the project, saying residents and the business community were suffering inconveniences whenever it rained.
The Sh1.2 billion project was commissioned by Deputy President William Ruto in August 2018, and was meant to provide water to 70, 000 households, distribute it to hospitals, markets.
Further, the residents were to benefit from the improvement of the drainage in Maua town and its environs.
Mr. Mwirigi who has written to Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiangí on the project said areas such as Maua Girls High School, Gaciongo, were left out of the project, yet they are also in Maua town and were to be covered.
“The sewerage was done, but it is not complete. We want to be told how the funds were utilized because Maua town is still suffering a lack of water. Yet the project has already been handed over to the county 9government),” Mwirigi said.
He added: “Phase one of the water projects was not done and phase two was to supply water to Maua town to Gaciongo (market) were not done, yet the national government had allocated a vast amount of money for the project. We are demanding an audit because the project that was handed to the county is not complete,” he said.
The legislator said as the county’s second-biggest town after Meru town, they want an adequate supply of water for business and households, and a proper sewerage and drainage system in the low-lying town.]
