President William Ruto’s campaign promise to have 1,000 dams constructed across the country may not be achieved since not a single unit has been completed in almost three years into his leadership.

Water Cabinet Secretary Erick Mugaa, who appeared before the Senate plenary, told Senators that most of the planned dam projects were to be done through the Public Private Partnership, which has yet to attract potential investors.

Mugaa admitted the water sector has failed to attract the expected level of private investment from various investors in order to actualise what was considered one of Ruto’s flagship projects to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of water across the country, which now looks untenable.

“I would like to inform Senators that large dams were to be constructed under the Public Private Partnerships model; however, investments in the water sector have not been successful. Water tariffs are not cost-recovery, which has made the sector not attractive to investors,” said Muuga.

The Cabinet Secretary admitted that although several dam projects are currently under construction across the country, none of the large-scale dams have reached completion, giving the examples of Faui and Umma as being underway but with their progress being gradual so far.

During campaigns, Ruto had promised Kenyans that his administration would ensure that 100 large dams and 1000 small dams would be constructed to ensure food security, which has now turned out to be one of the unfulfilled campaign promises due to financial constraints to facilitate them. 

Ruto had made the 1,000-dam pledge during the 2022 election campaign, terming it the foundation of his administration’s plan to boost food security by reducing Kenya’s dependency on rain-fed agriculture going forward, which, three years down the line, has not been achieved.

“As I take over office, one of the promises that I will ensure is delivered is to have 100 mega dams, close to 1,000 small dams, and nearly 3,800 water pans constructed across the country during my tenure in office as President,” said Ruto. 

Two years ago, Ruto said that his administration was compiling a list of smaller dams that are at various stages of progress, stating that this would give a clearer picture of the overall implementation, which seems not to have taken place.

Ruto had promised to increase land under irrigation to three million acres and uplift millions of farmers across the country, stating that the construction of dams was crucial to transforming Kenya’s agriculture sector by enabling consistent irrigation.

The President had named specific areas, such as Baringo, where dams like Radat, Amaya, Beregei, Kimwarer, and Arror were earmarked for construction; however, many of these projects remain on paper, stalled by funding challenges, bureaucratic delays, and investor reluctance.

In August 2023, then Water CS, Alice Wahome, had likewise acknowledged the financial constraints undermining the government’s ability to deliver on the mega dams promise while acknowledging that the country continues to experience cyclic droughts, exacerbating food and water scarcity in many counties.