Residents of Kajiado West are travelling as far as 45 kilometres for water, the Daily Nation reported on Tuesday, 13 October. The shortage follows the government's suspension of Tata Chemicals Magadi, the soda ash miner that for decades supplied water to communities around Magadi. Almost three months into the shutdown, the dispute between the company and the State has not been settled, and households in one of Kenya's driest areas are still struggling to find water.

The Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs ordered the company to stop mining and exporting soda ash in late July. Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho announced the order in a statement on Wednesday, 29 July, citing "unresolved compliance issues under the Mining Act", The Standard reported. Tata Chemicals has said the suspension notice was dated 28 July.

A community dependent on one company

Residents of Magadi Ward say the company was their main source of water, healthcare and work. The area has no reliable boreholes or rivers, according to The Standard. Al Jazeera reported in September that the only clean piped supply comes from Ngurumani, about 40km away, and is delivered to Tata Chemicals.

"Tata Chemicals Company has been our lifeline," Magadi resident Esther Nganoni told Al Jazeera. Cosmas Karera Kiratu, a former subcounty children officer for Kajiado West, told the same outlet that the community was "very dependent on Tata company in terms of water, health services". He added that even before the closure, the company's water bowsers did not reach every community.

The suspension has coincided with a long dry spell. In mid-September, The Standard found acute shortages in villages on the outskirts of Magadi town, with people and livestock covering long distances to find water. Ok Keri village, about 42km from Magadi, was among the hardest hit. Residents there had relied on water carried by the company's cargo trains, and those deliveries stopped after the closure.

"Since the government stopped the operations of this company, we have been trekking," resident Solomon Kikanian told The Standard, describing journeys of many kilometres in search of water.

Another resident, Salome Kiseto, told the newspaper that the company now sends only one lorry of water a day, which is not enough for the population.

Government response

President William Ruto has directed the Ministry of Water to make sure Magadi residents have enough water. On 15 September, the Kenya News Agency reported that two water bowsers with a combined capacity of 80,000 litres had been sent to Magadi Ward for six months. They are meant to serve about 12,000 community members and 25 schools with about 5,400 pupils, in villages including Naserian, Olkeri, Olkiramatian and Oldonyo Onyokie.

Sammy Naporos, Chief Executive Officer of the Tanathi Water Works Development Agency, told KNA that the agency draws water from Ngurumani Springs and Oloibortoto through a 34-kilometre pipeline. In the medium term, he said, it plans to rehabilitate the Oldonyo Onyokie, Olkeri and Naserian water lines. "The design has been done, and the costs have been estimated," he said. The long-term plan is the proposed Ewaso Ng'iro Multipurpose Dam, which would serve Kajiado West, Narok South and Narok East.

Standoff over the mine

The government's audit found that Tata had relied on its land concessions instead of holding a mineral right under the Mining Act, Al Jazeera reported. The review also raised royalties, community development agreements and local processing. President Ruto has said Magadi's communities have not gained enough from the mineral, and he has called for a new investor to build manufacturing plants in Kajiado. Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku wants the county included in any negotiations and is demanding payment of accrued land rates.

A joint technical committee that includes company representatives is reviewing the dispute. Tata Chemicals managing director R. Mukundan told reporters last week that the company would wait for the committee's outcome. "We have the lease of the mine for another 30 years and will wait for the outcome of the committee before moving forward," he said, according to Kenyans.co.ke.

The Standard reported on Tuesday that the company is challenging the suspension order. Tata argues that the ministry relied on a community complaint that "has never been disclosed". The ministry maintains that the company's licence "remains intact" and that operations are only paused until it complies.

Until the dispute is resolved, residents say they will depend on water trucking. They have asked both the county and national governments to send more bowsers while the dry season lasts.

Photo: David Orgel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0