GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 774

Pursuant to Regulation 21 of the Environmental Management and Co-ordination (Impact Assessment and Audit) Regulations, 2003, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has received an Environmental Impact Assessment Study Report for the above proposed project The proponent, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation, State Department for Crop Production, is proposing to construct the Buuri Irrigation Scheme in Meru County, which entails construction of a dam/water reservoir in hitherto protected area within Mt Kenya Ecosystem (MKE) which habours the Mt. Kenya National Park and Forest Reserve. The scheme development will involve installations of conveyances, service laterals and other auxiliary facilities connecting to individual farmlands. The project also provide for IWUA offices and grading sheds. The following are the anticipated impacts and proposed mitigation measures: Impacts Proposed Mitigation Measures Site safety, • The contractor shall provide a detailed safety, security and security and health plan for the project. health arrangements • The project participants shall guarantee security of all the personnel working in the project. • Barriers shall be erected to prevent unauthorised access to the project sites. • Security personnel shall be deployed to secure the safety of the workers and property against vandals. • The contractor shall have his workers appropriately trained on safety and health matters. • Any accident, incident or hazardous situation should be reported immediately it occurs or identified. • The contractor shall provide insurance cover for any eventuality during work to the employees. • The proponent/contractor shall provide adequate and suitable sanitary facilities for workers during construction period. • The contractor shall abide by the all the relevant provisions of OSHA, 2007 and other relevant legislations. Consideration of • The contractor shall employ a full time dam safety Environment, Safety and Health Supervisor to foresee implementation of the EHS policy. • The contractor shall provide, free of charge, all employees with personal protective gear. • Due diligence shall be an integral part in any undertaking or component during dam construction. • Dam shall a no-go zone to unauthorised persons. • The contractor shall ensure safe operating procedures (SoPs) and Safe Systems of Work (SSW) are elaborate and communicated to all workers. • The supervision team (JUMA APEI Company Limited) shall ensure that works are carried out as per the specifications contained in the final design approved. Workers welfare • The contractor shall abide by the requirements (hygiene and under OSHA, 2007 in regard to the safety, sanitation health and welfare of the workers. • The contractors shall provide, free of charge, appropriate PPEs. • The contractor shall provide clean portable drinking water for the workers. • The contactor shall provide first-aid services. • The contractor shall communicate and implement the contents of the EHS policy of the Company to the employees. • The contractor shall retain a well trained and experienced EHS officer at the site. • The contactor shall retain trained staff on Occupational safety and health as per the DOSHS curriculum, at the site. Impacts Proposed Mitigation Measures • Sensitive matters beyond control of the relevant persons or institutions shall be referred to the court of law. • Ensure that locals are given first priority during recruitment of workers. Due diligence, risk mitigation and integrity Politics • Alcohol and substance abuse shall be totally discouraged. • Ensure due diligence prevails during project construction. • Any potential risk to the project shall be diligently investigated and appropriate mitigation measures identified and implemented. • Ensure each component of the project adhere to the specification of the designs. • Any variations shall be reported and addressed appropriately. • The project participants shall desist from any form of political inclinations. • The community shall be sensitised on negative political influence on projects implementation. • The politicians shall be encouraged to desist from negative politics for the sake of the community economic development. The full report of the proposed project is available for inspection during working hours at: (a) Director-General, NEMA, Popo Road, off Mombasa Road, P.O. Box 67839-00200, Nairobi. (b) Principal Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, NHIF Building, Community, P.O. Box 30126-00100, Nairobi. (c) County Director of Environment, Meru County. The National Environment Management Authority invites members of the public to submit oral or written comments within thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this notice to the Director-General, NEMA, to assist the Authority in the decision making process of the plan. MR/0440869 MAMBO B. MAMBO, Ag. Director-General, National Environment Management Authority.