Water CS Eugene Wamalwa has invited representatives of persons affected by the dam project for a meeting to discuss the dispute.
The residents who were supposed to have vacated the dam site by February this year but are yet to be fully paid for their land.
The multi-purpose dam hangs in the balance after the project financiers - AfDB - questioned why the contract was awarded to the second lowest bidder.
The government has stepped in to resolve the controversy surrounding compensation and resettlement of people affected by the proposed Sh62.3 billion Thwake dam project.
Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa has invited representatives of persons affected by the planned infrastructure for a meeting this Thursday in a bid to resolve the dispute.
The move comes amid claims by Ukambani leaders that the project, which is set to be Kenya's largest dam upon completion, had been deliberately set up to collapse in order to punish residents of Kitui and Makueni County.
The landowners will present their grievances to Mr Wamalwa, including claims of under-compensation and discrepancies in reimbursement rates that have dogged the land valuation process.
Sh2.4 billion had been set aside by Treasury to compensate 519 families residing in the project area after surveying and valuation was done, with the government buying an acre for Sh180,000.
However, the process stalled after the National Land Commission (NLC), which was tasked with processing the compensation payments, asked for an extra Sh1.5 billion - prompting an audit by the ministry.
According to Dr Daniel Kisangau, the secretary of the Thwake landowners committee, the farmers will be seeking answers from the minister on why they have to beg for payments despite funds being set aside by the State.
Dr Kisangau said the area's residents were worried they may be rendered squatters unless measures are taken to address the row.
“People are apprehensive that the need to address the water deficiency in the region may render them squatters after acquiring their land in a rushed process and then pushing them out,” Dr Kisangau said.
The residents were supposed to have vacated the dam site by February this year but are yet to be fully paid for their land, with the compensation process now under investigation over alleged fraud.
Mr Wamalwa and NLC boss Dr Mohammed Swazuri have been summoned to appear before the parliamentary committee on lands to explain why hundreds of families affected by the planned dam have not been fully compensated.
Dogged by controversy
The infrastructure project, set to be located at the border of the semi-arid Makueni and Kitui counties, was first proposed during colonial times as a solution to ending the area's water woes.
However, the project has been torpedoed by political intrigues and in-fighting that hit a crescendo last month when its financiers - the African Development Bank (AfDB), pulled the plug by withdrawing its funding after the tender was awarded to the second-lowest bidder.
The pan-African lender rejected the contract award to STECOL Corporation (Sino Hydro Tianjin Engineering Co Ltd) - which quoted Sh39.5 billion despite the lowest bidder quoting Sh3 billion less.
STECOL was being supported by former Irrigation Principal Secretary Patrick Mwangi while his boss Mr Wamalwa wanted China Gezhouba Construction Group Corporation - which put in the lowest bid of Sh36.9 billion - awarded the tender.
AfDB director-general for East Africa Gabriel Negatu said it objected awarding the deal to STECOL because there were no justifiable reasons to reject the lowest bidder.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
