By KPC Reporter

The Senate Finance and Budget Committee has raised concerns over implementation, spending and environmental impact of climate projects in Kisumu County.

This is despite Ksh373 million having been committed under the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLOCA) programme.

The concerns emerged after the committee concluded an oversight visit to the county to assess project delivery, value for money and local ownership under the climate financing framework jointly funded by the World Bank and county governments.

According to records presented by the Kisumu County Executive, the county received Ksh273 million under FLLOCA during the 2023/2024 financial year and added Ksh100 million from its own budget.

County officials told Senators that 47 out of 49 projects implemented across 35 wards had been completed, although some projects, including the Ogenya Evacuation Centre, remain unfinished after storms damaged roofing works.

The programme finances community-led investments in sectors including environment, water, infrastructure and agriculture.

However, Senators questioned several aspects of implementation, including a Ksh14 million allocation for Phase Two of the Climate Change Resource Centre project, citing inadequate details in the Bill of Quantities and requesting accountability records for Phase One.

Financial documents showed Phase One had already consumed Ksh10 million in county funding and Ksh30 million from FLOCA resources, against an estimated overall project cost of Ksh60 million for the planned three-storey facility.

The county executive also cited operational and political challenges affecting implementation, saying the locally-led model had attracted pressure from Ward Representatives who preferred smaller village-based projects instead of larger investments.

County officials further blamed delays in conditional grant legislation on late release of funds and bureaucratic bottlenecks at national coordination offices.

Vice Chairperson Senator Tabitha Mutinda challenged Kisumu’s leadership to match neighbouring counties.

“Our expectation definitely is very high compared to where we are coming from, that is the great county of Vihiga, where really impressive work has been done by the Governor there. Your leadership should have taken advantage and just crossed over to use Vihiga County as your benchmark,” she said.

Committee members defended the FLLOCA model, maintaining that locally-driven investments are intended to deliver broad community impact.

“Please don’t have a negative attitude on this locally-led programme, as we realize it is highly beneficial to the community. The figure of a locally-led project is not supposed to be small; it can go to a bigger figure depending on the catchments of the area,” Senator Mariam Sheikh submitted.

Senator Essy Okenyuri added: “We are anxious to see what is on the ground.”

During field inspections, the committee also flagged environmental concerns in Ahero, where Senators said a flood mitigation project appeared to be discharging untreated sewer into River Nyando.

“I have seen in Ahero one of the projects that was meant to contain flood water; a tunnel has been dug, it has been stone-pitched, and raw sewer is draining into the River Nyando,” said Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale.

“It is a medical, environmental emergency, completely contrary to what FLLOCA was coming here to achieve. The county government of Kisumu must, with immediate effect, go and rectify the issue of raw sewer draining into fresh water.”

Committee Chairperson Senator Ali Roba said a final report will be prepared after the county submits additional documents and the committee reconciles them with findings from random project sampling.

“Our objective is only to assess whether the projects have taken place, the value for money, fitness for purpose, and to find out whether there is ownership from the locals,” he said.

“We aim to ensure that we protect devolution at the national level by way of fighting for resource allocation, as well as exercise oversight to protect devolution from itself.”