Waiguru Questioned Over Sh470 Million Revenue Loss at Kirinyaga Firm

Kirinyaga governor Ann Waiguru on Wednesday explained how a water firm lost more than Sh470.6 million in earnings during her reign.  

In a sit down with the Senate’s County Public Investment and Special Funds Committee, legislatures called upon the governor to clarify how the Kirinyaga Water and Sanitation Company suffered the losses. The senators during the audit questioning for the period 2020-21 claimed that the lost revenue was triggered by graft and flawed management. Migori Senator Eddy Oketch blamed Managing Director for the shortcomings. 

 “It will be very deceptive. This is purely been a management issue. Managing Director, you have a problem,” said Mr Oketch. 

An audit report for 2020-2021 disclosed that only 2.70 million cubic metres of the total 6.72 million cubic meters were billed to customers, raking in Sh150.8 million. Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) states that the 35% loss is above the allowable loss of 25%. The revenue loss is projected to hurt the company's profitability for the financial year. 

Governor Waiguru said that physical and commercial losses led to the non-revenue water. She attributed the physical losses to deteriorated infrastructure, saying that the same hiked operational costs. She added that the water supply needed assessment after decades of its operation. The committee rejected her explanation saying that the management of the water company embezzled the funds. 

“The company developed a non-revenue water reduction plan which has been implemented in the financial year 2020/2021. The company has shifted from Upvc pipes to HDPE pipes. This is because HDPE pipes are more durable and elastic than Upvc pipes,” Waiguru said.