Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation Committee meets CS Water and PS Blue Economy

Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation Committee meets CS Water and PS Blue Economy

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓.

The Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Sanitation Eng. Eric Mugaa has presented a policy paper on the National Sanitation Management Policy (NSMP) before the Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation Committee.

The session led by the Committee Chairperson Hon. Kangogo Bowen (Marakwet East), heard from the Ministry that the policy focuses on expanding access to safe sanitation services, improving public health, and reducing environmental pollution majorly from water sources.

The Sessional Paper No. 7 of 2024 on National Sanitation Management Policy, which was developed by the Ministry through support from the African Population Health and Research Center (APHRC), also seeks to address the current gaps in governance, financing and infrastructure development for sanitation in Kenya.

According to the CS, there is a need for adequate funding for sanitation infrastructure, as centralized sewerage coverage is critically low at 16% nationwide, which is majorly in towns. The low access to proper sanitation facilities has also led to a high prevalence of open defecation in 15 Counties.

APHRC, in their submission,, noted that the Kenyan government aims to increase sewer coverage to 40% by 2030 as outlined in the National Water and Sanitation Investment Plan. However, the initiative may be difficult to achieve due to the required resources, hence the need to apply innovative approaches to deal with the funding challenges that might be difficult to realize if the focus is solely on the exchequer.

The Committee also met with the Principal Secretary of the State Department of Blue Economy and Fisheries, Ms Betsy Njagi, over the Fisheries Management and Development Bill, 2023, scheduled for debate in the House after the recess.

The principal object of the Bill is to provide a comprehensive Legislative framework for the development, governance and investments of the oceans and fisheries resources in line with the national development policy objectives envisaged in Vision 2030.

The Bill seeks to align the governance of the fisheries sector to the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which calls for sustainable use of our natural resources for the benefit of the people of Kenya and the governance at the County and National levels.