“Raila Odinga terms Sh6.8b Jubilee water project 'tunnels of death'”

 Opposition leader Raila Odinga has sparked another row with President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration over a multi-billion-shilling water project.  Raila yesterday warned against the construction of Sh6.8 billion Northern Water Collector Tunnel designed to address chronic water shortage in Nairobi and its environs, citing conservation concerns. He accused the Jubilee Government of working secretly on the project, which is located along the eastern fringes of the Aberdare conservation area in Murang'a County, and which he cautioned would turn parts of the country into a desert...

Raila told President Kenyatta to immediately stop the World Bank-funded water project until a comprehensive audit on environmental concerns raised by residents is done. Raila cited lack of public participation in the project, which he described as "tunnels of death", warning that its implementation would deny residents of Murang'a, Ukambani, Garissa, Tana River and other parts of the Coast their source of livelihood. "The secrecy surrounding this project is by design. Even the Jubilee Government knows it is a bad project. It will turn Murang'a, Garissa, Ukambani and Tana Delta regions into a desert within five years of implementation," Raila said.