MANGAO THIBA DRIVERS

“We are getting worried that the works at Thiba Dam which has been on good progress at 30% is now almost abandoned, we don’t exactly know what is happening, we are only hoping the dam will not end up as Kimwarer Dam,” said the official He said they have now gone for over eight months without receiving any funding from the government which has virtually brought everything to a standstill. “We have been told to go home until further notice because the Company has no money to pay us and finance the project,” John Njiraine, a worker at the dam said.Ī Strabag official who is, however, not authorised to speak for the Company said the change of the Cabinet Minister and his Principal Secretary was also affecting the cash flow for the project. “The problem is further complicated by some of the people who surrendered their land for the construction of the dam, claiming they will come back and re-possess their land if the work is abandoned,” claimed the people living around the project. Nyangangwa said the government is committed to ensuring the project moves within the scheduled time to enhance irrigation of rice in Mwea and improve country’s food security. “Once the problem is addressed, the project will resume in the shortest time possible, we are taking the matter seriously,” he said.

He said, as the Chair of the Regional National Government Project Implementation Team, he has impressed upon officials at the treasury to address the issue. “It is true the construction has temporarily been suspended due to problem of resources,” the Commissioner said without elaborating. Officials from the National Government and those in charge of the Strabag Company have confirmed that the government has not remitted money in excess of Sh1 billion which has left them with no other alternative but to suspend the work.Ĭentral Regional Commissioner Wilfred Nyangangwa, assured that the problem will be solved soon.

MANGAO THIBA DRIVERS

The workers including drivers said they were sent packing because the government had not released money to the company. The close down, attributed to cash flow from the treasury, has seen over three hundred workers previously engaged by the contractor, Strabag Internationals suspended. A temporary halt to the construction of the Sh20 billion Thiba Dam meant to boost rice production in Kirinyaga County spells doom for rice farmers who viewed the project as a major solution to water shortage in Mwea.

Mangao thiba