Kenya’s Smart Water to benefit from Germany’s pledge of 28 billion

Germany will spend (Ksh28 billion) 250 million Euros in the development cooperation with Kenya in the next two years

Negotiations for the funds between Kenya and Germany was concluded last month and the money would be expended in 2017 and 2018.

Speaking during the opening of the Kenya-German Water Week at the Kenya Water Institute, Berlin’s ambassador to Nairobi Mrs Jutta Frasch said, “Water is one of the sectors that would greatly benefit from the funding.”

Kenya-German Water Week brings with it German water experts who are in the country for a five-day workshop in Nairobi to train their Kenyan counterparts on latest technology and trends in water and wastewater management.

Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa said, “We support Public Private Partnerships and new technologies in solving water problems and we welcome our German experts to share with us their experiences.”

The technology areas of the workshops are: drilling technologies and construction practices; wastewater treatment and reuse; wastewater and sewage solutions; water purification and de-centralized solutions; urban and agro-industrial wastewater treatment.

“Water and sanitation, especially in urban areas, are issues that need to be addressed urgently. The workshop will focus on latest technological advances to help more people access clean water,” said the Country Director of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Kenya, Mrs. Maren Diale-Schellschmidt,

Participating in this exchange of ideas are representatives from relevant institutions from Kenya and Germany, including the German Water Partnership (GWP), Kenya Water Industry Association (KWIA), Small-Scale Drillers Association (SSDAK), Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), the representation of the Federal Republic of Germany at UNEP/UN-Habitat, and representatives of the Kenyan Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

“Our medium-term to long-term objective is to form a strategic partnership between Kenyan and German private sector in water and wastewater that will provide a road map to deliver positive impact to both Germans and Kenyans. We thank the German Ministry for the Environment for its great support in this initiative,” continued Mrs. Diale-Schellschmidt.

Kenya-German Water Week precedes the first Kenya Water Week which will be held next month.