The Committee on Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation led by the Chairperson, Hon. Kangogo Bowen (Marakwet East), met with officials from the State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries, State Department of Irrigation and State Department of Water and Sanitation,  over the Supplementary Estimates 1 for the Financial Year 2024/25.

While appearing before the Committee, Principal Secretary, State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries Ms. Betsy Njagi, decried the rationalization of the allocations, noting that this will hinder the achievements of the development targets set this year.

"Hon. Chairman, the approved estimates for Financial Year 2024/25 for 100 percent Government of Kenya (GoK) - funded projects are Kshs.2.6 billion. This allocation has been reduced to zero. Most projects were due for completion this financial year and as such will deny the beneficiaries the expected benefits," said Ms. Njagi.

She added that there is the risk of contractors of the projects instituting legal proceedings against the State Department for breach of contract.

Principal Secretary, State Department for Irrigation Mr. Ephantus Kimotho also lamented the budget cuts, with the Department facing a Kshs.33 million cut in recurrent expenditure.

Some of the SAGAs that will be affected by the cuts include the National Irrigation Authority (NIA), where Members heard that it has not been adequately funded by the Treasury, to cater for salaries including for this month.

"We look forward to you engaging with the Treasury especially on the recurrent budget, because it is not possible to have people working without salaries,” said Hon. Bowen.

Further, Mr. Kimotho requested the Committee to consider providing Kshs.2 billion to complete land acquisition for the Mwache Dam Phase 1 Project, as the GoK is meant to cater for land acquisition in the project funded by the World Bank.

Principal Secretary, State Department for Water and Sanitation, Mr. Julius Korir, while appearing before the Committee, took Members through the criteria used to drill boreholes in schools across the country, to ensure fair distribution.

 “The idea is that when we sink boreholes in the schools, apart from serving the students, it should serve the community. So, we identify areas that are densely populated, we build water kiosks and bring water up to that point. This way both the school and the surrounding community benefits,’ Mr. Korir said.

The State Department has been allocated Kshs.48.689 billion, which is a reduction of Kshs.3.72 billion, from the initial allocation of Kshs.52.41 billion.