President William Ruto and Health CS Aden Duale. /FILEIn a bid to strengthen emergency preparedness within counties, the Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Public Finance Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which now mandates county governments to establish County Emergency Funds.
In a meeting chaired by President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi, the Cabinet said the move will ensure predictability and strengthen emergency response to disasters, including natural calamities.
"This decision follows the serious gaps exposed by the 2023 El Niño rains and stems from extensive consultations and a directive issued at the 24th Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) in August 2024," the Cabinet said.
"The amendment aims to equip counties with the financial readiness to respond swiftly to future emergencies, thereby protecting lives, livelihoods, and critical infrastructure," it explained.
The 2023 El Niño event stands as one of the most severe climate-related disasters in Kenya's recent history, underscoring the need for enhanced disaster preparedness and infrastructure resilience.
The rains wreaked havoc across the country, resulting in significant loss of life, widespread displacement, and extensive damage to infrastructure and agriculture.
The National El Niño Emergency and Disaster Control Centre reported that the floods led to the deaths of 174 individuals, comprising 133 adults and 41 children.
The Public Health Emergency Operations Centre reported 16 injuries and one person missing due to flooding incidents as of late November 2023.
At the peak of the crisis, over 529,000 people from 105,824 households were displaced.
The State Department of Special Programmes distributed over 4,604.6 metric tonnes of food items, including rice, beans, fortified flour, and corned beef, to affected counties.
By January 2024, the number of those displaced had decreased to 15,208 households across 79 camps.
However, the aftermath of the torrential rains remained as a grave reminder to the devastation the climatic phenomenon had visited on the country.
Floodwaters rendered numerous roads impassable, including major routes such as the Garissa-Madogo Road, Garissa-Wajir Road, and Isiolo-Moyale Highway.
Bridges were submerged, disrupting transportation and relief efforts, forcing the national government to initiate repairs to damaged infrastructure to restore normalcy in affected areas.
A total of 7,878 schools were affected by the floods, while 49 healthcare facilities across the country were compromised, limiting access to medical services in affected regions.
The agricultural sector also suffered losses estimated at Sh16.26 billion resulting from approximately 84,568 acres of farmland being destroyed by floodwaters.
Some 6,706 livestock—primarily goats and sheep—were washed away.
