ABSTRACT
It is 12 November 2007 and, at last, the Wamalanda water supply in the Nyalenda informal settlement in Kisumu, Kenya, is about to be reopened. Nyalenda is said to host some 100,000 people, to whom essentially no basic infrastructure services such as water and sanitation have been availed over the years. The direct beneficiaries in the Wamalanda Development Group – a community-based organization – have been looking forward to the reinstatement of the supply for months now, after it was completely vandalized shortly after its construction in January 2007. This so-called ‘delegated line’ will at long last bring in water into the hitherto un-served area, and at a much lower price than what consumers have been paying to water vendors operating in the jurisdiction. For years, most of the vendors have obtained water illegally from the main pipeline of the public water utility Kiwasco, bypassing the fringe of Nyalenda. The only remaining step before the new system is fully operational is to cut the illegal connections – which is now thoroughly done on this November day.
