1.0 COMPANY DESCRIPTION

1.1. Geo –Economic Description

MAWASCO is located in Maralal town. Maralal town is the administrative and

Commercial Centre of the Samburu District. It has retail shops, butcheries, posho

mills, low/medium high class hotels, a district hospital, administrative offices and

divisional police headquarter and station, a commercial bank, a post office and

several education institutions. The town has greater potential for further development

considering its commercial and trading opportunities and its location as the other

nearest town is Nyahururu which is located about 160km away.

Maralal Town forms Maralal Location and consists of seven sub locations with an

area of about 187km2. The sublocations include: Lpartuk; Lkuroto; Ledero; Ngari;

Maralal Town; Shabaa and; Milimani.

The mean annual rainfall is estimated at 540mm which follows a fairly erratic pattern

varying significantly both in time and space. Both short and long rains exist. The

driest months are January and February. The long rainy season fall in the months of

March, April and May. Short rains occur during the month of July and August

sometimes extending into September. The maximum temperature is 33.40c which

occurs in the month of March while the minimum temperature is 17.40c which occurs

in January and December.

Samburu District is an ASAL area whose soil development has been greatly,

influenced by the rock type, climate and topography. The soils are in most areas

generally low in organic matter due to low density of plant life and fast microbial

activities. They have low fertility and are inherently shallow permitting only a

limited capacity for water.

The topography is a rolling terrain. The town is surrounded by Forests which are

increasingly facing depletion due to overexploitation and overgrazing leaving the

ground bear and exposed to rainfall runoff and wind erosion .

About 2% of the town’s population comprises civil servants, 9% business and the

remaining 89% either depend on wages or livestock and livestock products. The

poverty Index is estimated at about 50%. About 91% of the population earns about

Kshs 9,000 per month and the remaining 9% earn an average of Kshs. 20,000. The

amount of income determines the ability to pay for water and sanitation services.

About 3% of the household income is used to pay for water services, and about 91%

of the population can afford to pay a minimum of kshs270 per month. Despite the low

average incomes, the willingness to pay for water services is rated as high considering

that there is no alternative source in the district.

1.2. Core Business and Service Offering

MAWASCO carries on the business the business of provision of affordable good

quality water and Sanitation Services in Maralal town and its environs. It provides

and distributes sustainable supply of potable water for commercial, industrial and

domestic purposes. It is also charged with provision, control and maintenance of

sewerage services for commercial, industrial and domestic concerns. It is in charge of

treatment and disposal of sewage generated within the service Area.

MAWASCO obtains its water from Nundoto Dam and a borehole. The Water Supply

serves only three sub-locations in Maralal Location instead of the whole location.

They are Maralal town, Shabaa and Milimani. Due to the rapid increase in population

of Maralal town over the years, the existing water supply is inadequate in meeting the

town’s water supply hence there is need to develop a way forward through prudent

strategic planning.

The water coverage in Maralal is estimated at about 14.4% since the average water

produced is 663m3/day against a water demand of about 4,595m3/day and is

concentrated in 6km2 against the town area of about 150km2. This situation is

expected to worsen with time if no immediate action is taken. Maralal Town has no

sewerage system. The mode of sewage disposal is by onsite sanitation in form of pit

latrines.

Existing Water Supply

The source of Maralal Water Supply is Nundoto Dam with a design capacity of 230,

000m3. Its catchment’s area is 62km2. The construction of this Dam started in 1984

and was completed in 1986. The population of Maralal town in 1986 was 5000 people

and currently (2008) is slightly over 39,000 people. The average daily water

production is 663m3 against a demand of 4,595m3.

Currently, there are a total of 780 consumer connections depending on this water

supply.

1.3. Ownership and Management

Maralal Water and Sanitation Company (MAWASCO) is a recently established

Water Services Provider registered as a limited company and responsible for the

provision of water and sanitation services within Maralal urban town. The company is

registered under the Companies Act chapter 486 of the laws of Kenya (Registration

certificate No. C125692. A Service Provision Agreement (SPA) has been signed with

the licensee (Northern Water Services Board). In order to run Maralal water supply

effectively, a code of ethics for Boards of Directors was developed in compliance

with the requirements of the Companies Act and Water Services Regulatory Board

co-operate governance guidelines for water services sector.

The Company is fully owned by the County Council and was formed by Maralal

Town Council on 21st July, 2006 as a propagation of the water sector reforms as

stipulated in the water Act 2002. The main objective was to provide sufficient, good

quality, and affordable water and sanitation services within Maralal Township. It

clusters Maralal Water Supply, Shabaa, Ledero, Lpartuk and Nkejuemuny boreholes.