Water Prices Up From 50 Cents Per Cubic Meter To Ksh 5

Kenyans will soon be paying the highest water bills in history after the government moved to introduce a raft of measures in line with the requirements of the World Bank. This will see water bills rise more than 10 times, reading deep Kenyans’ pockets.

Given that many Kenyans have their water bills tied to their monthly rent (especially those in Nairobi), the move is likely to see landlords either forcing tenants to pay for water separately or increase the amount of rent to cater for the ballooned cost.

The World Bank-driven regulations published by Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki last Friday raised user charges from 50 cents per cubic meter to 5 shillings for domestic use and livestock farming. Water companies would then top up an additional five percent of the charges as the conservation levy.

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“Where the authority discovers that a permit holder, or a person who is required to have a water permit, has not paid water use charges, the authority may charge arrears,” the rules contained in the Water Resources Regulations Bill, 2021 read.

The introduction of permits will hit hard on water vendors/sellers/suppliers. For instance, the cheapest permit would cost users 2,000 shillings for activities deemed to be of low risk of impacting a water resource.

At the same time, those likely to have the potential to make a significant impact on the water resource will attract 20,000 shillings as permit fees – being applicable for water companies.

Those whose activities have a significant impact will pay 40,000 shillings while persons whose activities involve two water catchment areas will acquire permits at 80,000 shillings.

Read More: Kenyans To Pay More For Clean Water As Bills Set To Rise

With now the government raiding a commodity that is considered “life”, it is time to brace for more tough times ahead.