AfricaPress-Kenya: When the year began, residents of Nyanza were upbeat that multi-billion projects earmarked by the national government to transform the region into a commercial hub would finally bear fruit.
State agencies rushed to implement the projects estimated to be worth Sh100 billion. Some of the projects were considered fruits of the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
However, completion of the projects now hangs in balance as focus shifts to the fight against Covid-19. The projects include opening of the Kisumu port, completion of Ahero-Isebania road, expansion of Ahero Irrigation Scheme and construction of the Koru-Soin dam.The projects had been tipped to be the game-changer in transforming the economy of the region.
In the Nyando rice belt, plans by the government to expand the land under production from 11,000 hectares to 16,000 suffered a setback after the area was marooned by floods. Farmers are unable to access farms in parts of West Kano Irrigation Scheme.
Although officials from the National Irrigation Board (NIB) opened waterways to channel water away from the rice scheme, farmers fear that the crop has already been damaged.“We were happy with the expansion plans but nature had a different idea. The floods have grossly affected us,” said Joseph Odhiambo, a farmer.
But it is not only floods that have affected farmers. A few weeks ago, the NIB announced plans to reduce activities at the rice scheme as part of efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.NIB Nyanza Regional Manager Joel Tanui told Sunday Standard that some of the activities that have been reduced at the schemes include operations. Floods also destroyed part of Ahero Irrigation Scheme.
Interviews with several farmers established that they have already started feeling the pinch of reduced operations at Ahero and West Kano Irrigation schemes. Julius Okungu, the chairman of Ahero Irrigation Scheme said they were hoping that the government will scale up operations at the schemes even as they ensure safety.
He warned that reduced operations at the rice schemes will affect food security as the virus continues to devastate the economy. And residents will have to wait longer for the planned construction of the Koru-Soin dam, which has been tipped to control flooding.
A few weeks before the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in the country, National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority had started collecting views from the public on the project.
CEO Geoffrey Sang told Sunday Standard that they had already started stakeholders’ engagement with a view of delivering the project. But the ban on public gathering has hampered the collection of views from residents.The creation of Special Economic Zones in Nyando has also been affected by Covid-19 even though a feasibility study of the project is still underway.
And multi-million road projects have stalled. They include the Kisumu-Kakamega road as well as the Sh70 billion ring roads running along Lake Victoria beaches, from Busia to Migori.
Construction of a bridge connecting Kisumu with five counties along the Ahero-Isebania road, which had also been earmarked for expansion, is likely to delay.
Destroyed beaches
Motorists who want to access southern Nyanza through the Kisumu-Ahero-Katito road, which is about 30km have to go through Kisumu-Awasi-Katito that is almost twice the distance, or Kisumu-Kericho-Sondu, which is longer.
And with the developments, plans to open the Sh3 billion Kisumu port have been put on hold again. Although the port holds promise for the region, the rising water level of Lake Victoria has destroyed several beaches and this is likely to dampen plans of prospective investors.
