President-elect Dr William Ruto has fired a warning shot at government officials whom he accused of derailing implementation of the Itare Dan in Nakuru County.
Construction works on the project that was expected to be complete by April 2021 have stalled.
But speaking during thanksgiving prayers in Njoro Constituency on Sunday, September 4, 2022, Dr Ruto said within the first 100 days of his administration, the contractor will resume works.
“Itare dam ilikwama kwa sababu ya siasa mbaya. Ndani ya siku 100, tutakua tumeleta contractor wakuje kuendeleza hiyo kazi,” said the President-elect.
He noted that the project was at 30 percent complete before the contractor stopped works after interference from some individuals.
Dr Ruto says he knows the individuals behind the stalling of the project.
“That project was 30 percent complete lakini contractor akaletewa kisirani na watu wengine. Hao watu wanajijua, tayari waanze kujipanga,” he said.
The multi-billion Itare Dam project was meant to provide clean drinking water to about 800,000 residents of Nakuru County. It is expected to yield 100,000 cubic meters of water per day.
Ksh500m stalled projects
Further, the President-elect said he will work on completing all he stalled projects which according to him are valued at over Ksh500 million across the country.
Several projects initiated by the Jubilee government under which Dr Ruto served as the Deputy President are yet to be complete.
But according to him, some have been delayed by petty politics – which he notes should not be allowed to derail government project.
Arror and Kimwarer are the other dams that were never completed after graft allegations.
However, when he spoke during a presidential debate before the August 9, 2022, general election, Dr Ruto said the project was stopped by individuals who wanted to punish him politically.
“Arror and Kimwarer were signed at the same time with other projects. They were signed by the same companies and funded by the same financiers. These were not projects that were cooked at night or in some dark corner. How come the projects that did not go through are only Arror and Kimwarer?” he asked during the debate that his main competitor Raila Odinga skipped.
