President William Ruto has said his government is working on a plan to privatize water to increase its uptake among Kenyans.
The President revealed his plan while addressing the first sitting of the 13th Parliament at the house’s buildings in Nairobi, stating that the current uptake stands at 50% of Kenyans.
“In an attempt to raise water uptake from the current 50% to 80%, Ksh. 500 billion is required. Government can provide this gradually, but the private sector can mobilize it all at once. We will therefore adopt a public-private partnership framework by entering into a water purchase agreement with investors.” Ruto said.
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The president said legislation to guide the plan is being worked on by the treasury, urging the legislature to approve it once it steps on the floor of the house.
“I have already advised the responsible department of the treasury to work on the regulations that will facilitate the mechanism as we have in our energy sector, for investors to work with us on a formula under the water purchase agreement instrument,” he said.
The head of state said that privatization would help the government achieve 100% water availability to people in a period of 10 years.
Water is among the many sectors the head of state says will help improve service delivery if other individuals alongside government agencies are allowed to chip in.
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He added that his government would also enable small corporations to enter the energy sector and contribute to its distribution.
“Concerning electricity, we shall facilitate the development of innovative and effective modalities to provide off-grid systems, including enabling consumers to form small cooperatives for that purpose,” he said.
