GARISSA BASED NORTHERN WATER BOARD FACES A DILEMMA

Plans to build a multi-million-shilling sewerage plant for North Eastern Province have been suspended.

Mr Justice Mohammed Ibrahim this week reinstated an injunction stopping the Northern Water Services Board from proceeding with the project approved a month ago. Funding for the plant was obtained from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries which advanced a loan of about Sh300 million. An additional Sh322 million came from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.

The government provided about Sh75.4 million from domestic sources. The agreement with Badea stipulated that the water board would acquire land for the plant. But the board and Tana River County Council have now been barred from the land after two farmers claimed its ownership.

Mr Osman Muhumed and Mr Dubey Godad filed a case against the NWSB and the council for allegedly invading their 300-acre property in Tana River in December 2009, which they said they had fully developed. 

In February, the court had dismissed an earlier injunction halting the venture and allowed the construction to go ahead after the parties agreed to survey the land to determine the size the board would occupy and the compensation for the farmers. But this week, Mr Justice Ibrahim said the board was not acting in good faith as it had not made serious efforts to compensate the farmers.The government has said it is willing to pay compensation but the judge said the calculations used were defective. The case will be heard on April 22, 2010.

Meanwhile, Three people died and 53 others injured when a bus they were travelling in was involved in an accident along the Mandera-Nairobi road, police have confirmed. Mandera Central Police boss Boniface Bukhala said the Saturday evening accident occurred between Elwak town and Wargadud. Wargadud is a trading centres about 30 kilometres from Mandera.

On Sunday morning four seriously injured passengers were air lifted from Wajir to Nairobi for specialized treatment. “Three of those who were taken to Nairobi had fractured hands and legs, while one had a severe head injury,” a health official in Elwak district hospital confirmed.

The OCPD said more than10 passengers who sustained serious injuries are admitted Elwak and Wajir district hospitals. 41 other survivors with minor injuries were discharged from Elwak district hospital.

Poor infrastructure dating back to colonial Kenya has not been addressed in Northern Kenya, hence less interest in Investment in Northern Kenya