Landlords in Kitengela join hands to build Sh85m private sewer line
Titus
Njari Ndei, 37, organized his fellow landowners in Kitengela to build a private
sewer line after being arraigned in court a decade ago.
Currently,
818 Kitengela plot owners benefit from a 45-kilometer, two-foot-wide sewer
system, which seemed difficult to build at first.
The
sewer line, which has so far cost them Sh85 million, connects to the
neighboring Athi River Export Processing Zone Water and Sewerage Project trunk
sewer, which was built in the 1990s as pivotal support infrastructure for the Athi
River Export Processing Zone by the National government at a cost of Sh700
million.
The
county government took Mr Ndei, a locomotive engineer, and the other 22 plot
owners to Kajiado law Court in 2013 for continual raw sewer issuing from their
structures, which violated the public health legislation.
They
were released on a bond of between Sh180,000 and Sh200,000 each until the
outcome of the case, but Mr Ndei persuaded the court to let them come up with a
long-term solution in two months.
“We(the
accused) moved with speed to acquire the necessary authorisation from the
Export Processing Zone (EPZA), Nema and other relevant authorities after
registering ourselves as Kitengela EPZ Neighbouring community sewer project
within the first two months to convince the court,” Mr Ndei, project
secretary general told Nation on Wednesday saying he is planning to
rally his group to request for their bond refund now that the sewer line is in
place.
Each
plot owner was required to pay a fixed charge of Sh250,000 in addition to a
registration fee of Sh1,000. Furthermore, a non-refundable charge payable to
Epz in three categories ranging from Sh7,500 to Sh74,000.
The
majority of Kajiado satellite towns, including Kajiado town, Ngong, Kiserian,
and Ong’ata Rongai, lack sewer systems. All of the satellite towns have been
raised to the status of municipalities.