By Tobias Ogutu
In the animal kingdom, scavengers are animals that avoid the effort of hunting for food, instead waiting for another animal to catch prey, then ambushing and stealing the meal. The hyena community is well known for such behavior.
Surprisingly, there are individuals within our community and government who behave like hyenas, scavenging projects that have been implemented for the local community.
Many projects in Kisumu County have failed or fallen short of their intended outcomes due to interference by these scavengers. However, this article focuses on a recent example: the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) initiative.
FLLoCA supports community-driven initiatives focused on climate resilience, such as planting trees, improving drainage systems, constructing water points, protecting water sources, and more. The project is funded by the World Bank and implemented by the County Government, aiming to manage the impacts of climate change and strengthen resilience at the ward level.
In the fight against climate change, no country should be left behind because we are all working to save our planet. However, some individuals fail to recognize the importance of protecting the Earth, which has led to the misappropriation of FLLoCA funds allocated to the County Government of Kisumu.
Prior to the disbursement of FLLoCA funds, the county had a promising idea: a ward climate community was established to manage local initiatives. However, this was primarily done to attract funding. Once the funds were received, the ward climate committee became ineffective and no longer received any information. In Nyalenda A, the ward climate committee members remain completely uninformed about the FLLoCA project, which they were originally tasked with monitoring.
It came as a surprise to the ward climate committee when, one morning, a project board was erected at K’Arum homestead near a small drainage channel that directs water to the Auji River. The board indicated that work was being carried out as part of the FLLoCA project. The work lasted for two days, during which ten youths cleared and opened the drainage, and then it stopped. Later, the ward climate committee was informed that the opening of that drainage had cost two and a half million shillings. This suggests that some individuals have taken control of the FLLoCA project.
It is not only in Nyalenda A Ward and Kondele Ward that climate committee members are sharing similar concerns; members from other wards within Kisumu County are narrating the same story. Interestingly, when asked about the FLLoCA funds, the Members of County Assembly (MCAs) have nothing to say and are reluctant to participate in the oversight of the project, despite this being one of their responsibilities. This clearly indicates that the MCAs are part of the group responsible for misappropriating the FLLoCA funds.
The national government and project funders need to be aware that FLLoCA is failing, with little progress being made and minimal engagement from local communities. An audit should be conducted, and those responsible for mismanagement should be held accountable.
