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Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui has revealed that 1606 Project Affected Persons (PAPs) by the Thwake Multi-purpose dam project have been fully compensated for their land and development therein that have been acquired for the dam project at a total cost of approximately Ksh. Ksh. 2,844,648,868.00.
He also disclosed that the National Treasury has provided adequate funds to compensate the remaining 186 PAPs.” Processing of payment is ongoing and it is expected that payments will be finalized within a month from 25th, September 2018. Approximately Ksh. 700million will be remitted to the National Land Commission for disbursement”. the CS said.
The Cabinet Secretary’s said this during a leaders’ meeting on implementation of Thwake Dam Project held on 25th September, 2018 at ole-Sereni Hotel, Nairobi
The meeting was attended by Makueni Governor H.E (Prof) Kivutha Kibwana, Machakos Governor H.E (Dr) Alfred Mutua and Kitui Deputy Governor Dr. Mwathe Nzau.. Others were MP for Makueni Constituency Hon. Daniel Maanzo , Hon Boni Mwalika, MP for Kitui Rural, Hon Rachel Nyamai , MP Kitui South, Members of County Assemblies from the three counties among other leaders.
The Ministry’s Chief Administrative Secretary, Ms Winnie Guchu, Principal Secretary, Joseph Irungu, Ag Water Secretary, Eng SAO Alima , Thwake Dam Project Manager Musembi Munyao, Water Resources Authority Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mohammed Shurie among others also attended the meeting.
The CS said that the Thwake project involved acquisition of Land adding that approximately 9,158 acres of land will be acquired for the dam project affecting 1,792 households at a total cost of approximately Ksh.3,685,425,059.85.
On the Social Economic Impact of the Thwake Dam, the CS said under the contract for construction of dam embankment and associated works, 30% of works worth approximately Ksh.11billion will be subcontracted to local companies with preference to companies owned by groups or individuals residing within the dam area.
“ 80% of the labour force required for construction of the dam project will also be sourced from the local community. The net result will be immediate improvement of livelihood (including skills development) for the local community.
The dam will provide treated water to approximately 1.3 million people thus contributing to universal health care by reducing water borne diseases. It will also reduce walking distance to water points thus saving time for economic development. Areas of coverage include;Wote Town, Kitui rural up to Kwavonza sub-urban center, Makueni rural covering Mavindini and Kalawa sub-urban centers , Kathonzweni Town and lastly, Konza Technocity”, said the Water and Sanitation CS.
“Overall, Thwake multipurpose dam will speed up achievement of the Government big 4 agenda”, Chelugui said.
Sewerage infrastructure will be developed in Wote and Kibwezi towns and the dam will provide water that will be used to irrigate up to 100,000 acres of land thus contributing to food security and nutrition, Chelugui observed.
“The Thwake Dam Porject is going to be a game changer, it will impact on the generation to come and change the face of Ukambani from a marginalized, sometimes remote area to mainstream counties of Kenya. it will impound (store) water ten times the size of the largest Dam Ndakaini Dam and touch many lives positively. it will also provide bulk of the water for Konza Techno City, the proposed ICT hub, for construction, domestic and industrial use. It is going to address food security in this part of the country. It will therefore spur housing and industrialization, the CS disclosed.
Addressing the meeting, Governor Dr Alfred Mutua requested for the Locals to be given first priority in the process of sub-contracting of the Works so that the local people could benefit and spur development in the region.
Makueni Governor Prof Kivutha Kibwani noted with appreciation that the Government had invested a lot in Ukambani region and Makueni county in particular by implementing the Thwake project and the Konza city.
“We are beginning to see the fruits of the Handshakes, and the Handshake is really about development that touches people of Kenya’, said Prof Kibwana.
Deputy Governor Kitui County, Dr Wathe Nzau noted with satisfaction that the Thwake Project will “transform Ukambani region forever and bring water, irrigation, generate power as well as food to the people”.
Dr Nzau said the project was inline with the Manifesto of the Kitui County Government as well as the Big 4 Agenda of the President.
The objective of the meeting was to brief the leaders on the progress of implementation of Thwake dam project in Kitui and Makueni Counties and to get their views on the way forward for smooth and efficient implementation of construction works that commenced on 27th March, 2017

The meeting resolved that;
• All Project Affecting Persons (PAPs) who have not yet been compensated for their land and property acquired for the dam project will be fully compensated within three weeks from the date of the meeting (25th Sep.2018)
• The leaders will provide the Cabinet Secretary with their proposal on employment of locals during the course of dam construction. Approximately 1,450 jobs for skilled and non-skilled labour are available for locals.
• The leaders will also provide the Cabinet Secretary with proposal on subcontracting of civil works and supplies to local contractors and suppliers.
An exercise that will be coordinated by coordinated by Hon. Prof. Kivutha Kibwana the Governor of Makueni County
• Finally, the meeting also resolved that the consultative meetings will be frequent with the next meeting scheduled to be held at the dam site once proposals from the leaders have been received and all the PAPs fully paid
The Ministry of Water and Sanitation is currently implementing several Dam Projects to improve on Water Storage; some of which include Mwache, Itare, Karimenu, Ruiru II, Bosto and many others under planning stage. Apart from improving water storage, the dams are also expected to supply for domestic, irrigation, power generation and industrialization.

Information in the Ministry indicate that Thwake Multi-purpose dam project is a Flagship under Vision 2030 of the Government of Kenya (GOK). The program comprises multi-purpose dam for water supply, hydropower generation and irrigation development. It will also provide regulation of flows on River Athi downstream of the dam for flood control and drought mitigation.
The program will be implemented in the following four phases;
Phase 1; Construction of a 80.5m high multi-purpose dam (688 Million Cubic Metres storage capacity) and associated preliminary works needed to enable the other three phases.
Phase 2; Development of hydropower generating system with an installed capacity of approximately 20 MW.
Phase 3; Development of Water Supply, Sanitation & Waste Water Infrastructure to supply estimated 150,000 m3/day of treated water to approximately 1.3 million people drawn from the rural areas of Kitui and Makueni Counties including Konza Techno City and environs.
Phase 4; Development of Irrigation Scheme to ultimately irrigate approximately 40,000 hectares (approx. 100,000 acres) of land.
The Key Parameters of the dam
• Height - 80.5m
• Crest length - 1,500m (1.5km)
• Crest width -10m wide, forming a road to connect Makueni and Kitui Counties
• Storage Capacity – 688 million cubic metres (approximately 10 times bigger than Ndakaini dam which is the major source of water for Nairobi City)
• Reservoir area - approximately 5,714 acres (will be covered by water)
The Contract for construction of Th-wake dam embankment and associated works was signed on 15th November, 2017 between the then Ministry of Water and Irrigation, State Department of Irrigation and China Gezhouba Group Company Limited. In this regard the Contractor was granted access to site for initial construction works on 27th March, 2018 which is also the contract commencement date. The contractor is currently on site mobilizing and undertaking initial works

On the Program budget and funding arrangement, the total cost of implementing all the four phases of Thwake Multipurpose Water Development Program is estimated at KSH. 82.21 billion, namely, Multi-purpose Dam & RAP Kshs 42.365 B , Hydro power Generation Kshs 4.35 B , Water Supply, Sanitation & Waste Water Infrastructure Kshs 10.63 and Irrigation Development Kshs 24.13 B .
The Thwake Project is also set to undertake Social Corporate Responsibility programs namely, construction of Secondary school and health center, establishing of Small Micro Enterprises and will also ensure that approximately 1,450 direct employment will be created
By Monica A Omoro,
Head of Public Communication Department.
Ministry of Water and Sanitation.
On 1st, October, 2018.
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Ends