NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 30 – The government has formally recognized water infrastructure as part of critical infrastructure, which will now be under the protection of the Water Police Unit (WPU).
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Monday said the Water Police Unit will be mainly tasked with securing assets and other resources for the Ministry of Water including dams, boreholes from unauthorized access and criminal activities.
This is the latest unit in the service, whose formation comes in the wake of a revelation by the Ministry of Water that up to Sh10.6 billion is lost yearly on non-revenue water.
“The government has decided to categorise water infrastructure as part of critical infrastructure , likewise I have gazetted effective this month water infrastructure, reservoirs and all critical water sources as part of critical infrastructure, that falls under the Protected Areas Act which provides special protection,” Kindiki stated.
On his part the Principal Secretary For Water and Sanitation Paul Rono said the collaboration is timely, noting that it will put an end to vandalism, illegal connections in water infrastructure.
“The government has been losing billions of shillings because of non-revenue water related to destruction of water infrastructure, non-payment of water bills and wrong metering and that’s why we are working with the Interior Ministry so as to address this problem once and for all,” Rono stated.
PS Rono said they are seeking a deployment of 322 police officers across the country’s critical water infrastructure.
And just like other police units within the National police service, it will be headed by a commandant.
The number of officers to be sent there will depend on the need, Deputy Inspector General of Police Noor Gabow said.
APS is now a specialized unit that includes border patrols, guarding critical infrastructure and dealing with stock theft.
Under the new structure, the APS has formed units that include the Special Weapons and Tactics team, the Camel Unit, Rapid Deployment Unit, Border Police Unit, APS Stock Theft Prevention Unit and Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit.
