Home » President Ruto strikes deal to restart construction of scandal-hit Arror and Kimwarer dams

President Ruto strikes deal to restart construction of scandal-hit Arror and Kimwarer dams

by Enock Ndayala

Kenya’s President William Ruto on Tuesday, March 14, welcomed his Italy counterpart Sergio Mattarella.

Mattarella who is in the country for a four-day official state visit held bilateral talks with the host at the State House on strengthening cooperation between the two countries for the prosperity of its citizens.

Addressing journalists at State House after the talks, the Head of State announced that the construction of scandal-hit Arror and Kimwarer dams in Elgeyo Marakwet will soon resume.

Kenya’s President William Ruto on Tuesday, March 14, welcomed his Italy counterpart Sergio Mattarella.
Kenya’s President William Ruto on Tuesday, March 14, welcomed his Italy counterpart Sergio Mattarella. Photo: William Ruto/Twitter

“Today, I am happy to report that the governments of Kenya and Italy have agreed to withdraw the arbitration cases against Itare, Arror, and Kimwarer Dams. We should be able to go on with these three dams in a few months; an issue that has stalled for almost three years,” the president said.

The president said the move was reached after the two countries reached an agreement to withdraw court cases on the botched project.

“In fact, the process of sorting the matters in court has started in earnest. The Kenyan government will withdraw the cases filed against the companies and the Government of Italy and the contractors will also withdraw the arbitration cases,” he added.

Italian President committed to providing over KSh13 billion in loans and grants to aid Kenya in the implementation of various projects within the agriculture, health, creative economy, and digital superhighway sectors.

The mega project was canceled by Rtd. President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2019 after investigations unearthed a scandal where billions were paid to an Italian firm for work not done.

Uhuru later ordered the resumption of the project at half the cost initially advanced to avoid the wastage of public resources.

In the multi-billion shillings fraud case, former Treasury CS Henry Rotich, former KVDA Managing Director David Kimosop, and seven others were charged with conspiracy to defraud the Government of Kenya.

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