Treasury proposes creation of special fund for drought

The National Treasury has proposed the creation of a special fund to hold all money intended to mitigate the effects of drought, whether from government or donors.

An initial Sh2 billion has already been set aside for the National Drought Emergency Fund, with the National Treasury saying a similar amount will be available in the Budget every year. The new plan, which comes in the midst of a biting drought, aims to create a structured response to famine and reduce wastage of funds.

At least two million Kenyans from 13 counties are currently facing severe food shortages as effects of drought continue to ravage Kenya. Animals, too, are dying and at least two people from Turkana this week committed suicide after losing all their animals to drought. The rains currently being witnessed across the country have brought some relief but the weatherman has told farmers not to celebrate just yet.

“The rains will soon go away,” Peter Ambeje, the deputy director of the Kenya Meteorological Services, told the Nation.

“Kenya has two rainy seasons caused by movements of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The rains you see now are as a result of an opposite movement of the Congo Air Zone which can create rains even in a dry season but they won’t last,” he said.

The ITCZ is the dividing line between the south-east and north-east trade winds and oscillates with the sun from season to season. Kenya lies along its path but it only passes twice as the sun moves either north or south leading to two rainy seasons.

WILL DISAPPEAR

The weatherman says the temporary rains being felt across the country will disappear soon sending the country back to the dry season. The government has, however, increased its financial arsenal to help it deal with the effects of the drought.

“We are setting up a fund that is to take in funds purely for drought. Right now we have a contingency fund which deals with all types of challenges, but this one will specifically be for drought,” said Kamau Thugge, the Principal Secretary for the National Treasury.

“The good thing about having that specific fund is that we will be able to get funding or contributions from development partners as well as putting in our money and then having a significant amount for addressing drought-related challenges,” he said.

The regulations will be published by the National Treasury and then tabled in the National Assembly for scrutiny by the Committee on Delegated Legislation. The MPs are mandated to annul parts that are not considered proper. If passed, management of drought will be handled at three levels: national, inter-county and local levels.

At the national level, a National Drought and Food Security Steering Committee chaired by the Deputy President and comprising eight Cabinet Secretaries and the chair of the Council of Governors shall mobilise resources for drought response interventions.

The County Drought Committees shall monitor drought situations and offer early warning systems. They will also “coordinate drought risk management plans and ensure their integration into the national and county planning and budgeting processes”.

TWO WEEKS

Under the new regulations, set to be tabled in Parliament in two weeks’ time, it will be up to counties to notify the national government in case their residents are facing drought.

It is believed that this will allow for a structured response and reduce wastage of funds. At the moment the counties, national government and charity agencies are all involved in mitigating the effects of the current drought that has affected at least two million people.

The process is, however, not synchronised, leading to a risk of duplication, something the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) says leads to wastage of funds.

“The fund shall be a basket for the government and donors so that we don’t have to depend on the government financial cycle,” says James Oduor, the authority's chief executive officer.

Under the regulations NDMA shall be the administrator of the funds. The new regulations, however, put a lot of emphasis on preparedness and resilience with 50 per cent of the total budget of the fund being allocated towards prevention of the effects of drought through projects like afforestation.