By Ok’ongo Oduya
Residents of Munana village in Samia Sub County, Busia County are blaming the National Irrigation Board for the floods that recently hit the region as a result of the heavy rains.
Addressing the media the residents said that the construction of Munana Dam along Munana River was done poorly causing the menace. They further said they have cultivated their farms along the rivers for many years and they have never experienced the flood but since the dam was constructed it has been a disaster for them.
According to the area member of county assembly in Busia county John Obwogo, the national irrigation board is to be blamed as being the major cause of the flood. He noted that when the project was brought they thought it will be of help to them to irrigate their crops during the dry seasons, which is not the case.
Obwogo further explained that the project has been going on for more than ten years and no fruits have been witnessed from it and now they are calling upon the national government to intervene and find a solution. “We blame the National Irrigation Board (NIB) for the menace. The construction of the dam was done in a shoddy manner by the contractors assigned to the job which is causing all these,” said Obwogo
On the other side Mrs. Jane Akuku, the victim says for many years the river has never swollen beyond its natural form but since the dam was constructed they no longer have peace with the river when it rains.
“I thought we are going to benefit from this dam as people of this community, but it is now a nightmare to us. For the last ten years , his thing has been here and we are yet to benefit from it. Before the construction Munana was of great help to us not just by farming but also we used to fish from the river but this construction brings floods during rainy season and water scarcity especially downstream during dry season,” said Akuku
“These kind of pictures we have witnessed them in Budalangi but here with us is actually a new phenomenon,” Akuku paused
However the deputy County commissioner Samia Sub County Paul Kiprotic, who also visited the scene urged the residents to remain calm as they try to address the issue to avert more damages.
“I need you to remain calm. I am going to call for a meeting with officers’ in charge and we will come up with a solution to this problem once and for all,” he said.
He further advised the residents to move to raised places as one of the measures to avoid more damage of properties at home.
