Government to release billions to counties and schools next week

Women quench their thirst at a water kiosk at Kokona village in Tana Delta Sub County, Tana River County on Thursday, January, 16, 2025. National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi opened an Sh. 11 million water borehole project at the village that was implemented by TARDA and said that the government was committed in funding regional development authorities to implement water resilient and climate action programs. [Nehemiah Okwembah, Standard]. National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has promised to release Sh30 billion to county governments and another Sh48 billion to school as capitation grants next week. Mbadi assured marginalized communities that they will be included in government project allocation across the country. He however said the government was facing challenges as it was not in a good financial position to adequate cater for all the projects and programmes. "We must admit as a country that we are not in good financial position and we have issues with debt repayments and we have over-committed this economy in terms of indebtedness. Therefore we will have challenges but we are trying at national treasury to ensure that we disburse funds for social services," he said. Mbadi said this when he launched a Sh11 million borehole project implemented by the Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA) at Kokona village and two bridges at Madingo, both in Garsen constituency in Tana River County. The CS acknowledged that the government was behind the ailing regional development bodies after denying them funds to make them operate optimally. He, however, said the government has committed to fund the six regional development bodies to implement water and climate change projects in the country. The regional authorities are TARDA, Kerio Valley Development Authority, Lake Basin Development Authority, Ewaso Nyiro North Development Authority, Ewaso Nyiro South Development Authority and the Coast Development Authority. "You know regional development authorities were created to help balance development across the country and that is why TARDA is here. The problem and the challenge was not of their making; it is our problem as government because we don't have money. We have not been financing them and so we must look for money to give these regional authorities to connect water as last mile connectivity. We will do our best to fund them," he said. Mbadi who was accompanied by Garsen MP Ali Wario, Tana River senator Danson Mungatana and TARDA managing director Liban Roba, said that the Kokona project was under the National Drought Mitigation Intervention programme domiciled in his office and it will cater for 300 households and 1,800 livestock. "I came first to witness and commission a water project that has been funded by the national government through TARDA and which has cost Sh11 million. It is a solar- powered borehole with three water kiosks, 25,000 litre tank, producing 10,000 liters per hour. This is a drought resilient programme which is domiciled in my office which is a climate financing department," he said. He added that the department popularly known as Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) helps to build resilience to climate change at the local level and aims at strengthening the capacity of local governments to manage climate risks and implement climate resilience actions. "We have allocated Sh122 million to this area and the county government has partnered with the US at a tune of Sh 66 million, the total allocation is Sh189 million shillings to make sure that we provide water and also tree planting to help mitigate the effects of climate change because environment is important," he said.

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