Funds to mitigate drought effects in Turkana

The Turkana County Assembly has approved Sh1 billion to aid more than 700,000 residents being ravaged by drought.

Budget committee chairman Bernard Kebo (Lodwar Township rep), said the supplementary budget would allocate money to the executive to fight the disaster.

Mr Kebo, also the deputy majority leader, said that the assembly had reallocated development funds given to departments with low project implementation and low absorption rates in the 2016/2017 financial year.

Public service, decentralised administration and disaster management departments contributed the largest share of Sh715.9 million to be spent on relief aid.

Sh150 million was taken from the water, irrigation and agriculture departments.

The money had been set aside for construction of Kotome and Letea water dams.

The department of pastoral economy and fisheries will have Sh51 million to spend on livestock emergency and risk management, and Sh80 million on buying livestock feeds.

Sh20 million will be spent on emergency health and sanitation.

Mr Kebo said that his committee consulted widely before coming up with the budget.

The drought has seen more than 25,000 Turkana herders cross over to Uganda in search of water and pasture.

Disaster management executive Charles Lokioto said that more than 10, 000 livestock have died in the county. More are expected to die.

The assembly passed a supplementary budget so that the county can deal with the dry spell caused by poor September-December rains.