The County Department of Water Services and its partners in water, sanitation, and hygiene have formed a joint forum through which all water supply and management interventions will be centrally coordinated moving forward.
During a meeting that birthed a coordination forum, which will be chaired by the Director for Water Services, all partners agreed to fundraise, adopt technology, and advocate, for water quality and emergency response among others.
The County Director for Water Services, Paul Lotum, said that the forum will work through a committee that includes representatives of all partners, strategic government agencies, and sister Departments in the spirit of achieving inclusivity.
“This mechanism will help to eliminate duplication of efforts, wastage of resources, and disjointed outcomes that are less beneficial to humans and animals that require water services,” said Director Lotum.
He added that water is a natural resource that requires various levels of joint intervention to maximize its harvesting and use.
“Through the Committee, the Water Department will create and maintain an inventory of all partners, interventions for the year, gaps in the sector, and proposals for improvement.” Director for Water Services asserted.
He further said that the Committee was expected to create a platform through which priorities in the water sector would be continuously identified, validated, and included in the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) and the water sector master plans.
On his part, the Deputy Director for Planning and Design, Fredrick Rukoo, added that the forum will be required to collect feedback from end users of water services and utilize the information to model evidence-informed interventions.
According to Rukoo, there was a need for capacity building on water-related policies, frameworks, and investment plans, which he requested the forum to prioritize.
The formation of the forum was facilitated by USAID NAWIRI Project.
Similar coordination efforts also exist in the County Disaster Management and the Health Sector.
The first duty of the committee is to form a coordination structure that appreciates the village unit as the last level of governance.
Senior Government officials who attended the forum included Sub-county Administrators; Chris Eregae (Turkana East) and John Lokoli (Turkana South), Sub-county Water Officers; Boaz Lomosingo (Turkana East) and Iriama Peter (Turkana South).
Thadeus Owiyo (USIAD -NAWIRI), Nachule James (LMS), Vincent Langat (Water Eng. WVK), Anne Wasafisia(CRS), Esther Kariuki (IRC), Patrick Maina (IOM) were also present.
