The proposed law says that counties will be in charge of small-scale
irrigation schemes, a function that is currently handled by the national
government. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- Irrigation schemes will undergo periodic audits to rid them of financial and governance inconsistencies, if a new legislation on establishment of the National Irrigation Development Authority (NIDA) is adopted.
- The Irrigation Bill 2017 currently at committee stage in Parliament seeks to promote and regulate development and management of irrigation in Kenya.
- The Bill sponsored by Majority Leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale provides for regulation of irrigation, which Kenya is banking on to cut overreliance on rain-fed agriculture.
- NIDA will replace the current National Irrigation Board (NIB)
Irrigation schemes will undergo periodic audits to rid them of
financial and governance inconsistencies, if a new legislation on
establishment of the National Irrigation Development Authority (NIDA) is
adopted. The Irrigation Bill 2017 currently at committee stage in
Parliament seeks to promote and regulate development and management of
irrigation in Kenya. The Bill sponsored by Majority Leader in the
National Assembly Aden Duale provides for regulation of irrigation,
which Kenya is banking on to cut overreliance on rain-fed agriculture.
NIDA
will replace the current National Irrigation Board (NIB). Its mandate
will be expanded to include water harvesting, flood control and water
storage infrastructure. “The authority shall conduct periodic technical
and management audits of irrigation schemes to identify problems with
scheme infrastructure, governance, management and financing, as well as
recommend solutions to the irrigation water users’ associations,” reads a
clause in the Bill.
The new agency’s director, an
appointee of the Ministry of Agriculture secretary, will have overriding
powers over board members who include a chairman appointed by the
President.
The Bill also introduces new qualifications that require all serving employees of NIB to re-apply for their positions.
The
proposed law also says that counties will be in charge of small-scale
irrigation schemes, a function that is currently handled by the national
government.
Kenya is cutting overreliance on rain fed
agriculture, which has been blamed for perennial hunger, into
irrigation. Apart from roads and railway networks, irrigation is one of
the sectors in which the government has been investing a lot of money —
averaging Sh9 billion every year over the last decade. The government
embarked on revamping the existing irrigation schemes as well as
establishing new ones, the end game being to ensure the country is food
secure.
However, implementation of this agenda has been
marred with irregular award of tenders for the irrigation projects,
meaning that farmers have had to go back to the drawing board to seek
other survival mechanisms.
A 2016 site visit in Turkana
by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) established that
the NIB awarded 15 irregular tenders for the irrigation schemes worth
Sh953 million.
The tour was conducted following a
petition to Parliament by residents calling for audit of all the
irrigation projects, which they said had since stalled and were not
giving value for money.
The PPRA found out that the NIB
was in breach of procurement laws through revising contract costs,
issuing restricted tenders beyond the Sh20 million limit as well as the
tender committee proceeding despite lack of quorum.
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