The Cabinet Minister for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Zakaria Njiru, has appointed Joseph Mungai Kamau as the CEO of the Athi Water Works Development Agency following the completion of a competitive recruitment process by the state company’s Board of Directors.
Mr Kamau takes over from Michael Thwaita who was suspended by Public Service Chief Felix Koski last year following alleged irregularities in the awarding of tenders worth Sh50 billion for the construction of the Ruiru II, Karimenu and Kitui Matuu water projects undertaken by the agency.
Mr Kamau, who has been acting CEO of the agency since last year, has over 27 years of experience in the water and sanitation sector in Kenya.
His technical appointment comes at a time when the agency is implementing several new water projects in different parts of the country.
Athi Water Works has invited bids for, among other things, the construction of the Gigiri-Karura Outer Ring Road transmission pipeline project.
The contract winner is expected to build a 4.4 km pipeline from Gigiri to Karura and a 4 km pipeline connecting Karura to the Outer Ring Road over a period of 24 months.
The project will be financed by the French Development Fund and the French Development Agency (AFD).
Other projects expected to start in the short term include drilling wells in eastern Nairobi and the Kiharu Last Mile water supply project.
Mr. Kamau holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Nairobi, a Master's degree in Environmental Planning and Management from Kenyatta University, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Hydraulic Engineering from the prestigious Hydraulics Research Institute in Cairo, Egypt.
He is also a registered consulting engineer with the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK), a Fellow Member of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (FIEK), a Registered Principal Environmental Expert, and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb).
Athi Water Works Development Agency (AWWDA) is one of the nine Water Works Development Agencies (WWDA) established under the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation. It is established under the Water Act 2016 under Legal Notice No. 28 dated 26 April 2019.