NECSA Kenya Memorandum on the Draft Amendments to the Water Act No. 43 of 2016
- Category: NECSA Memoranda
- Date 29-09-2023
In response to an invitation for public participation and request for comments by The Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, State Department for Water and Irrigation, NECSA Kenya convened its membership to discuss secoral documents in the Water sector and generated a memorandum to that effect. The comments in the NECSA memorandum are limited to; -
a) The Draft Water Resources Regulations, 2023
b) The Draft Water Services Regulations, 2023
c) The Draft Water Harvesting and Storage Regulations, 2023
d) The Draft Water Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023
e) The Draft Water Sector Development and Conservation Fund Regulations, 2023
Some of the highlighting comments that came from the workshop include:
- Government should guard against the commercialization and exploitation of water by foreign companies. Access to clean water is a right guaranteed by the Kenyan constitution under Article 43 b) & d). Commercialization of water infringes on this right
- The Water Resources Regulations, 2023 should be amended to ensure the Authority takes liability for wrong information accessed in their sites and documents as they have a duty of care as holders of the information/data. The Authority shall however not be held liable for any errors in regard to information shared through third parties
- The Water Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 seeks to establish new agencies in the water sector despite the existence of bodies that do the same work. This multiplication of duties might bring conflicts and cause redundancies of other institutions. Members recommend the harmonization of roles and improving the functionalities of existing bodies and county-led interventions to decentralize water functions. The role of County Governments should be considered in institutional arrangements that have cross-county functions and cooperation frameworks defined.
- The Water Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 should be amended to include the development of infrastructures to guide the treatment of wastewater and outflows. All urban governments should be compelled to have Medium- and Long-Term Plans on the treatment of wastewater and their return to the cycle rather than disposal and dumping. New towns and cities being developed are also encouraged to create infrastructures for the collection of water from kitchens and bathrooms which can then be utilized in watering gardens and other non-consumption needs.
- The Water Services Regulations, 2023 were properly done. NECSA-K commends the Ministry of Water Sanitation and Irrigation for preparing a good document.
The full memorandum generated from this workshop can be read and accessed here.