News and Events
August 15, 2024The Authority held a stakeholders’ meeting on its Strategic Plan on 9th August, 2024 where stakeholders gave their views which have been incorporated in the plan so as to make it inclusive and responsive to various changes and needs. During the event, the Principal Secretary State Department for Irrigation; CPA Ephantus Kimotho CBS, said the state aims to raise irrigated area from 711,993 acres to 1.2 million acres by 2027. This will improve food security, wealth creation and social-economic development. PS Kimotho noted that the Authority plays a critical role and water harvesting and storage will be instrumental in attaining set targets.
“Our plan is to increase the water storage from the 55 million cubic metres to 340 million cubic litres by 2027.” PS Kimotho. He was delighted to note that the plan is aligned to the MTP IV priorities, particularly in expanding irrigated land by 22,000 hectares and increasing water storage for multi-purpose use by 125 million cubic meters by the year 2027. This will go a long way not only in increasing access to safe and clean water but protecting and saving lives and property from the effects of floods and drought.
H.E. Andrew Mwadime, The Chairman of the Water, Forestry & Natural Resource Management Committee emphasized the need for more collaboration between the national and county governments so as to tackle the challenges of drought and floods across the country.
“We are currently involved in the review of legal and policy frameworks, including The National Water Policy and Water Transition Plans to ensure required legislation, regulations, systems and structures are in place through the intergovernmental initiatives and working groups.” Governor Mwadime.
Taita Taveta has in the past benefited from projects spearheaded by NWHSA. These include reinforcement of the walls of Njoro Kubwa canal in Taveta, which led to the reclamation of hundreds of acres of arable land, and which also acts as a flood control measure. He noted with satisfaction that NWHSA has positively impacting projects in other counties spread across the country.
He added that the Council of Governors through his Committee appreciates, and supports, efforts by NWHSA, to tackle the challenges of water harvesting, storage and flood control across the country so as to respond to the current challenges of climate change.
The Authority’s Chairman CPA Symon Kimaru, stated that the Authority developed the Plan in consideration of various global development priorities, regional and national development frameworks. These include; United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Africa Union Agenda 2063, East Africa Community Vision 2050, Constitution of Kenya 2010, Kenya Vision 2030, Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and Fourth Medium Term Plan.
Looking at the five core pillars of BETA; Agriculture; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Economy; Housing and Settlement; Healthcare; Digital Superhighway and Creative Economy, it is without a doubt that water is a key enabler of these pillars.
To meet the water demand and realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Authority endeavors to develop water harvesting and storage infrastructure for multi-purpose use in our strategic objectives, with a target of 125 million cubic metres in the five-year period.
He appreciated the role of public participation as one of the key national values and principles of governance which gives stakeholders the opportunity to give their views and input on matters of national importance.
Ag. Chief Executive Officer John. Muhia highlighted the specific strategic objectives that will increase water storage for multi-purpose use and irrigation as follows:
1. Increase water storage capacity for irrigation in the country by 125 Mm³ by the year 2027.
2. Enhance sustainability of constructed water structures.
3. Enhance drought management.
4. Protection of lives and property.
5. Ensure provision of accurate and timely data.
6. Enhance partnerships.
Ag. CEO John K. Muhia
7. Enhance financial sustainability.
8. Enhance Institutional capacity for effective service delivery. [...]
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August 14, 2024The Authority intends to register contractors, suppliers & service providers Nationally, for provision of goods, works and services for the periods : 2024-2025 & 2025- 2026 under tender: NWHSA/IFR/001/2024-2026.
Check the Tender Document Here [...]
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August 12, 2024The National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority (NWHSA) wishes to notify all its stakeholders that following the directive from the Government and subsequent Gazette Notice declaring eCitizen as the official Digital Payment Platform for all Government Services, NWHSA has seamlessly integrated with the eCitizen Payment Platform. Payments to NWHSA will henceforth be channeled through the eCitizen gateway as follows: [...]
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July 29, 2024Directors of the Board recently undertook an inspection tour of the Authority’s projects. Key among these projects were the flood control projects. In Baringo County, the board toured River Perkerra flood control works in Marigat Sub-County, Ng’ambo location to inspect works undertaken over the years. They appreciated completion of 194m length of gabion construction and 12m length stretch at Lekirati section and further had a view of the de-silted section of the river channel.
Perkerra Flood Control Project has been able to mitigate against the effects of floods that had perennially destroyed farms and flooding of schools in Sintaan village along River Perkerra. Directors were happy that the long rains experienced across the country between April and May did affect Sintaan Primary School hence, bumper harvest is awaited. They promised to engage with the parent Ministry for additional resources to further entrench the works.
Trans Nzoia County is popularly known as the food basket of Kenya and has heavy farming activities in the area. However, this is a is a major cause of siltation along the river beds leading to flooding. Flood prone areas are in the farms of Marinda, Namanjalala, Amuka and Bidii villages.
The Authority has constructed and maintained earth dykes and gabions along River Sabwani and along its tributary, River Chemususu. Ag. Chief Executive Office John Muhia briefed the board on the extent of works under the just concluded financial year of 2023/2024 which entailed construction of 500m earth dyke along the southern side of River Sabwani; construction of 185m auxiliary dyke along River Chemususu; de-silting of the delta where River Chemususu joins River Sabwani; Dyke filling of 300mm height onto the existing 1.1km long dyke; cutting of drainage channels on both sides of the dyke to relief flow; and construction of two cattle ramps.
In the counties of Homa Bay, Migori, and Kisumu, the Authority has constructed dykes to protect households, property and agricultural farms from being destroyed by floods. The dykes are along River Kuja in Migori County, River Awach Tende in Homa Bay County, and Sondu Mirui (Marine Section) in Kisumu County.
The Authority’s Chairman; CPA Simon Kimaru reiterated the critical role the Authority’s mandate of flood control plays in protection of lives and national infrastructure. He noted that the Authority has over time constructed and maintained over 126Kms of flood control structures across the country. These include dykes, riverbank protection structures, river dredging, check dams and river training.
Before the Authority’s intervention, River Nyando used to burst its banks causing flooding in Ahero town, the police station, health center and the neighboring commercial centers and villages. This situation has since changed. Similarly, Budalangi, where we had persistent flooding has not encountered floods because of the Authority’s presence in constructing and maintaining flood control structures. The Authority has been undertaking flood control works in other areas within the country.
The team which was led by the Authority’s Chairman CPA Symon Kimaru also toured Siyoi-Muruny’ dam in West Pokot County. Also present were the board of Directors, Ag. Chief Executive Officer and Authority’s senior staff.
Board photo [...]
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June 7, 2024The Authority has embarked on its productivity mainstreaming exercise that is geared towards helping in the effective discharge of its mandate. The program entails improved efficiency and effectiveness through reduced operation cost, re-engineered processes that will result in high quality projects, great positive impact to the community and high overall productivity.
The National Productivity and Competitiveness Centre CEO, Dr. Nahashon Moitalel, graced the productivity mainstreaming workshop of the Authority, where he urged the team from NWHSA to embrace productivity not only for attaining performance contract targets but for improved service delivery. He added that the development of productivity metrics, collection and analysis of data is a diagnostic process that will help identify challenges that will inform a strategy for improvement.
NWHSA’s Ag. CEO Eng. John Muhia thanked the NPCC team for taking the Authority’s team through the mainstreaming process. He said the exercise is instrumental in the effective discharge of the Authority’s mandate noting that the Authority has existing internal controls and quality assurance measures which the exercise strengthen and enhance for improved service delivery.
Productivity measurement refers to the process of quantifying the efficiency and effectiveness of production or work activities in an organization. It measures outcomes achieved vis-á-vis the utilized resources.
Public Sector Productivity Measurement therefore refers to the process of collecting, analysing and reporting on information regarding productivity of a public organization. The Overall Labour Effectiveness (OLE) on the other hand measures the utilization, performance and quality of the workforce and its impact on productivity. These include the percentage of time employees spend making effective contributions, the amount of product delivered and the percentage of perfect or saleable product produced.
The metrics developed will drive the strategy and direction of the Authority by providing focus and basis for decision making thus driving performance and productivity. It helps in aligning people and systems to the organizational goals.
While developing the metrics, the Authority considered key features that will make the exercise successful. These are:
Clarity of purpose. What aspect of productivity are you trying to measure or improve? Ensure that the target relates directly to this purpose.
Measurability. Productivity metrics should be based on data or observable outcomes.
Alignment with objectives.
Relevance to operations. It should provide insights into the efficiency or effectiveness of those operations.
Specificity. Avoid vague or overly broad targets that are difficult to interpret or act upon.
The exercise was led by a team from the National Productivity and Competitiveness Centre whose team leader was the Assistant Director Mr. Edward Owenga. Mr. Owenga emphasized the importance of the exercise in ensuring improved, timely and quality service delivery, lower operational costs, improved work safety and overall effectiveness thus increasing customer satisfaction. The Authority is committed to continuous improvement for enhanced competitive advantage in water harvesting, storage and flood control.
productivity mainstreaming pic [...]
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