Kenyan ministries, counties and donors on spending alert over El Nino

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich (right) and Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge before the Public Accounts Committee Tuesday. [PHOTO: MOSES OMUSULA/STANDARD]

NAIROBI: The National Treasury has issued a spending alert to all Government ministries, the county governments, parastatals and even the donor community as it seeks to secure money to prepare for the El Nino rains that the meteorology department says will hit the country within the next three months.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich told the Public Accounts Committee yesterday that aside from the Sh5 billion in the Contingency Funds, ministries such as that of roads had been asked to rework their budgets to get the money to clear the storm drains.

"The money is in the contingency fund. If that situation happens, that is the vote that we will go for. We have also asked ministries to prepare for the phenomenon by restructuring their budgets. They all have to ensure that they are ready," said Rotich at Parliament Buildings.

The Government has also roped in county governments to make sure they use some of the money in their coffers to prepare for any emergency that is likely to arise from the extended heavy rains.

There is likelihood of flooding in North Eastern around Garissa, lower Tana, Kano plains in Nyanza and Budalang'i in Western Region, according to the meteorological department.

The Cabinet secretary told the MPs that he had already met donors and donor agencies to alert them that the situation may be dire, so they are ready to step in and mitigate if and when disaster strikes.

Land or mudslides are likely to occur in floods-prone areas of Western region, Lower Tana, Nandi Hills and Central Kenya (Murang'a).

The meteorologists have also warned that heavy storms accompanied by lightning are also expected in Western Kenya especially in Kisii, Nandi and Kakamega.

The PAC chairman Nicholas Gumbo (Rarieda) and members John Mbadi (Suba) and Timothy Bosire (Kitutu Masaba) questioned how the National Treasury had ready money for El Nino on one hand, but when it came to paying teachers, it was difficult to raise Sh1.3 billion every month to cover the Sh17 billion pay bill for the 288,000 striking teachers.

"You can see how tight it is for us to raise the money. We are cutting the budget to the ministries. We have gone to the donors and even the county governments. The amount that we are talking about when it comes to teachers is so huge that we have to programme it," said Rotich.