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Tana and Athi River Development Authority (Tarda) is set to desilt sand at Kiambere and Masinga dams.

Tarda chairman Joe Mutambu said this when he paid a courtesy call on Kitui Governor Julius Malombe (below) and Kitui County Commissioner Erastus Mbui at their respective county headquarters in Kitui town.

He said all stakeholders would be involved to ensure that sand harvesting activities go on smoothly.

“Kiambere Dam is under threat from silting. Sand harvesting is needed to unblock it and preserve the livelihood of thousands of residents who depend on water from the dam,” said Mutambu. “We want to loop in and listen to the views of all parties before the exercise starts,” he added.

The ongoing rains are the main cause of the silt, inhibiting full collection of water for domestic needs and electricity generation.

Malombe (pictured) said Kiambere Dam is a source of water for thousands of residents of Mwingi town through the Kiambere-Mwingi Sewarage and Sanitation Company. He promised that the revenue generated from sand harvesting of the dams would be pumped back to local communities through funding of key projects.

Mbui, who is also the chairman of the county’s security committee, said excess sand in the dams could lead to water scarcity.

However, in 2019 during a similar sand harvesting activity at the dams, residents staged violent protests over what they termed as non-inclusion in the well-paying exercise.