Efforts to build climate resilience in Kakamega County have suffered a devastating blow following allegations of corruption that prompted the World Bank to halt funding for key projects.
The county government is accused of misappropriating millions of shillings allocated to community-led climate initiatives under the Financing Locally Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) program.
The county initially committed to contribute 109 million shillings to a designated FLLoCA account at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) for the 2023/24 fiscal year. However, records show the government failed to honor this commitment. Instead, after a World Bank disbursement of 292 million shillings to the account, county officials withdrew 60 million shillings in questionable payouts.
Officials documents reveal that the funds were paid to several companies for projects unrelated to FLLoCA’s mandate. These included Waypoint Suppliers Kenya Limited (16.7 million shillings), Tonniesanto Investments (13.6 million shillings), Pan Pacific Kenya Limited (22.3 million shillings), and Actra Africa (2.5 million shillings).
The companies purportedly provided materials for solar installations and fencing projects, but these initiatives were not part of the county’s Climate Actions Plan (CCAP) or vetted through the required Participatory Climate Resilient Assessment (PCRA).
The National Treasury, responding to the allegations, froze transactions on the county’s FLLoCA account in October and issued a demand notice for the misappropriated 60 million shillings to be reimbursed.
Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa has downplayed the controversy, stating in a text message to People Daily, “That is not the true position… the issue was the county’s obligation to deposit counterpart funds of 60 million shillings, which we agreed with the National Treasury to pay in three installments.”
The fallout from the scandal has raised concerns among climate experts and community stakeholders. Last month, the county reassigned David Kulova Musafiri, the chief officer for environment and secretary of the County Climate Change Steering Committee (CCCSC), to a less prominent role as a town manager in Malava. The move has been widely interpreted as an attempt to shield officials from scrutiny.
This debacle is a significant setback for Kakamega, a region grappling with the intensifying effects of climate change, from erratic rainfall to deforestation. The FLLoCA program was designed to empower local communities to adapt through projects tailored to their specific vulnerabilities. Now, the corruption allegations threaten not only the region’s environmental sustainability but also the trust of international donors.
WKT is your go-to digital media platform committed to telling the stories that shape lives, spotlighting the diverse voices of Western Kenya, and empowering readers with real-time updates, in-depth analysis, rich perspectives, and powerful stories that matter.
