SPEECH BY THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL WATER CONSERVATION & PIPELINE CORPORATION Dr. Eng. ALI HASSAN DURING THE KENYA NATIONAL DAM CONFERENCE 2018, HELD ON 8TH- 9TH MARCH 2018 AT THE FLAMINGO BEACH RESORT & SPA HOTEL, MOMBASA.

The Cabinet Secretary- Ministry of Water & Sanitation,
The Cabinet Secretary- Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources,
The Governor, Mombasa County,
Chief Administrative Secretary, Ms. Winnie Guchu,
The County Commissioner, Mombasa County,
National Water, Chairman, Hon. Dr. Kones
National Water Board of Directors,
Board Chairpersons present,
Board of Directors present,
Chief Executive Officers,
All protocols observed

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is such a great pleasure and honour to host the 1st Kenya National Dam Conference. I thank you all so much for coming because without you we would not have had this conference. I want to thank our Chief Guest, the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Water & Sanitation for honouring our invitation to be here with us today together with his Chief Administrative Secretary. We feel very privileged to have all of you here today, I believe each of us have a role to play in development of water infrastructure for water security.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Collectively, we have made major and notable strides in water infrastructure development. As National Water, we have implemented several flagships projects- Large dams such as Kiserian Dam, Chemususu Dam, Maruba dam, Kirandich dam and others are in various stages of implementation like Siyoi-Muruny, Badasa, Londiani, Isiolo, Pesi, Bosto dam and many others.

We are also cognizant of other agencies that have been involved in development of water storage infrastructure for multi—purpose uses like KENGEN (Hydro-power production, NIB (Irrigation) and WSBs (Water supply). We also appreciate other ministries, agencies, departments and all stakeholders that have participated in this noble agenda of development of water infrastructure and conservation.
Fellow Participants,
It has been a learning experience for all of us, we have had a share of successes and setbacks. We need to use our setbacks to draw lessons to use in the future. We thank all the stakeholders that we have worked with in this journey and we continue to work with. These are the Water Service Boards, NEMA, Warma, KFS, the National Lands Commission, The National Treasury just to mention a few.

Kenya has set the vision 2030 goals as tools to fast track the development of the country into an industrialized middle-income nation. Consequently, large dams’ development and other major water infrastructure were earmarked as a vital tool in achieving water security. As we work towards achieving this, let us embrace the newest technologies and good corporate governance in our operations for improved service delivery.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

With the enactment of the Water Act 2016, National Water Conservation & Pipeline Corporation (NWCPC) is in transition to National Water Harvesting & Storage Authority (WSA). WSA’s core mandate is to “Undertake on behalf of the national government, the development of national public water works for water resources storage and flood control.” My Chairman will elaborate more on transition.

The Conference theme “Synergy in Water Resources Infrastructure for Water Security” encourages us to move from a sectoral approach towards a holistic one, which captures interconnections between food, energy, health, trade, and the environment.
Fellow Delegates,

Upgrading water infrastructure can be challenging and can often benefit from collaboration among multiple entities. Public, private and nonprofit organizations at the national, and county levels all have a role to play in the development of water infrastructure.

Dams have played a key role in economic development such as power generation where it is estimated that dams provide about 20% of the world’s electric power. Dams also mitigate against floods and provides us with water for irrigation, domestic and industrial use. However, dams continue to be a subject of growing international debate and controversy. This is an opportunity for us to demystify the myths on dams and ensure the right information reaches the public.

Distinguished Participants,

Lastly I thank all our sponsors- our parent Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Apex Steel, Africa PVC industries, and Savana cement. I also thank our partners- KEWI, KENCOLD and IEK. Last but not least I thank the organizing committee for their dedication and commitment to ensure this event is a success. We are very grateful for everything.

As we continue the discussions on “Synergy in Water Resources Infrastructure for Water Security,” I urge all to adopt a collaborative approach that is aimed at bringing all stakeholders in the water sector together to develop sustainable water infrastructure that foster mutually beneficial solutions.

Karibuni sana!

It is now my pleasure to invite the Chairman of the Board, National Water Corporation.