Kenya Water Service Regulatory Board pronounces new tariffs for 2024-2025 | Meals Enterprise Africa

KENYA – The Kenya Water Service Regulatory Board (WASREB) has introduced new water tariffs for the 2024-2025 monetary 12 months, which can see residents throughout numerous cities face elevated water costs.  

The brand new charges, set to take impact from August 2, 2024, to June 30, 2025, will have an effect on home, industrial, and academic customers throughout the nation. 

In Kakamega, home water customers can pay between KES91 (US$0.71) and KES 227 (US$1.77) per cubic meter (M3), whereas industrial customers shall be charged between KES 136(US$1.06) and KES 238 (US$1.86). Academic establishments can pay between KES 68 (US$0.53) and KES 170 (US$1.33).  

Kisumu residents will face expenses starting from US$1.12 to US$1.38 per M3 for home use, with industrial charges set at US$0.98 to US$1.38, and colleges paying US$0.52 to US$0.95.  

In Nyeri, home customers can pay between US$0.41  and US$0.88, whereas industrial customers and academic establishments can pay US$0.66 to US$1.17 and US$0.36 to US$0.48, respectively.  

Kiambu residents will see home water charges between US$0.55 and US$1.22, industrial customers between US$0.92 and US$1.22, and colleges between US$0.65 and US$0.98. 

The brand new tariffs come at a time when Kenya is grappling with a extreme nationwide water disaster.  

In keeping with a report by the Centre for Science and Setting (CSE), over 16 million Kenyans depend on untreated and unsafe water sources.  

Rural households are significantly affected, spending a mean of US$38 monthly on water, whereas city households with piped programs, similar to these in Nairobi, spend considerably much less at US$4.46. 

Specialists attribute the continuing water poverty in city areas to low provide, excessive demand, and poor water administration planning.  

Malesi Shivaji, CEO of the Kenya Water and Civil Society Community (KEWASNET), identified that Kenya’s present water infrastructure is inadequate to fulfill the wants of the rising city inhabitants, additional exacerbating shortages in main cities. 

Efforts to handle the water disaster had been highlighted in the course of the Kenya Water and Sanitation Buyers Convention in March 2024, the place the significance of collaboration between private and non-private sectors was underscored.  

Mecuria Assefaw, Supervisor of the African Improvement Financial institution’s Water Safety and Sanitation Division, emphasised the necessity for diversified investments to bridge Kenya’s KES 995 billion (US$7.5M) financing hole to realize common entry to water and sanitation by 2030. 

Stakeholders proceed to push for Public-Non-public Partnerships (PPPs) as an answer to shut the funding hole and enhance Kenya’s water and sanitation infrastructure for the longer term.