Nandi county in trouble for allocating Ksh 500M to El Nino

The County Government of Nandi is once again on the spotlight for allegedly blowing out of proportion the resources allocated for emergency services during the much anticipated El Nino.

According to residents, the county government has allegedly set aside Ksh 500 million for El Nino preparedness and emergency response during that period.

Nandi County Civil Society’s chair Shadrack Tarno said that the huge allocation by the county government is misplaced as the area has no major history of floods or landslides.

The residents argue that allocating Ksh 500 million for El Niño preparedness and emergency response is one way of extravagant expenditure and a major scam.

Already the national government has set aside over Ksh 8 billion for disaster preparedness during the El Nino rains.

The budget will among things be used to mobilize the National Youth Service, police and the Kenya Red Cross in case of flood-related disasters.

However the county deputy governor Dominic Biwott, has defended the allocation saying the county wants to be well prepared for any disaster arising from the rains

Residents have expressed their displeasure as to why counties have parallel budgets for disaster preparedness with the national Government.

“This is just stealing from the taxpayer,” said Mr James Some, a businessman in Nandi.

He claimed the allocation is among “the many crafted schemes to squander taxpayers’ money.”

“Nandi has not encountered any serious floods and mudslides, we have had mild cases over the past decade but the magnitude cannot warrant such big sums of money,” he said.

Mr. Cherargei, a lawyer working in the area, said the county leadership has a history of allocating huge sums of funds to small projects.

He argues that huge amounts from such allocations have always ended in individuals’ pockets.

Last month, Nandi County used multi millions of money to construct a gate at Mlango near Uasin Gishu County that attracted public outcry from the residents over the county mismanagement of funds.

Last month, the medical staff downed tools over delayed payment of salaries despite the county saying that there was no money to pay them.

A section of the residents have threatened to go to court over alleged massive corruption in the County Government.

Led by Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP) chairman Sammy Choge and Nandi Rock Conservancy chairman Alfred Tum, the residents said corruption and mismanagement of resources will bring the county to its knees.