Ombudsman wants counties to use Sh7.5 billion climate funds prudently

A woman fetches water running from under a culvert at Tassia Estate near Kwandege in Embakasi, Nairobi for domestic use. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

The Ombudsman has rolled out training for county government officers for effective implementation of the Sh7.4 billion Financing Locally Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) programme.

Commission of Administrative Justice (CAJ) Vice Chairperson Washington Sati said the training will help entrench transparency and accountability in the counties.

Sati announced that the commission was ready to train county staff charged with handling public grievances and facilitating access to information.

"Those officers trained will handle complaints from members of the public arising out of the implementation of the FLLoCA programme," he said.

He was speaking in Hola town during a meeting between Tana River Members of the County Assembly and a team from the commission.

The policy provides key guidance on complaint-handling processes and is focused on supporting and ensuring mainstreaming of complaints handling in the provision of services by counties to promote responsiveness and accountability.

Specific focus has been paid to complement channels at the county and ward levels for use during the FLLoCA project implementation phase.

The complaints handling policy for counties developed by the commission with support from the National Treasury and the World Bank, seeks to remedy the piecemeal approach to complaint handling in the counties.

The Ombudsman is also carrying out public education, and legal aid activities targeting the public.

Tana River County Assembly Speaker Osman Galole appealed to the commission to open an office in the region to bring services closer to the people.

FLLoCA is a programme funded by the World Bank whose objective is to deliver locally-led climate resilience actions and strengthen county and national governments' capacities to manage climate risks.

CAJ is a key partner in the programme based on its integral role in promoting administrative justice and access to information in the public sector.

The commission, through the programme, will also provide technical support to the counties in the development and implementation of their Access to Information law.