Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has revealed massive gaps in the government’s preparedness to respond to emergencies during flooding.
In a performance audit report on the response to floods, Gathungu said the state has not put out in place adequate measures to handle emergencies.
“Flood response is not only characterised by delayed and inadequate evacuation of victims leading to loss of lives and livelihoods, but also inadequacies in relief processes thus causing suffering to victims,” the report states.
The haphazard preparedness, the report adds, exists in spite of flood early warning by the Meteorological department and Water Resources Authority.
The report further reveals that flood response in the country is characterised by multiple actors with an ad hoc mechanism for coordination.
Response operations involve several players, including national ministers, county governments and non-state actors.
“The coordination committees lack guidelines for their operations,” Gathungu said in the report tabled in the Senate on Tuesday.
“The government’s ability to adequately respond to flood-related humanitarian emergencies is hampered by challenges in preparedness, especially in the areas of disaster risk operations,” the report says.
Kenya has been hit by deadly floods in the past, killing people and livestock, and destroying property.
In 2018, Salai Dam in Nakuru broke its walls, killing at least 48 people.
Budalang'i in Busia, Kano and Ahero in Kisumu, and other areas along Lake Victoria and major rivers have also experienced deadly and destructive flooding.
Last month, several livestock were killed and property destroyed after floods hit counties in the Northeastern following a downpour.
Despite the disasters, the report states that the country still lacks a legal framework to guide response operations during emergencies.
The development of a national-level disaster policy has delayed for about 20 years. The government also lacks a focal lead agency charged with flood response operations.
“The directorate of special programme and National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC) are expected to play a focal role in disaster response, but the two institutions lack the requisite institutional capacity to discharge this responsibility,” it states.
As such, the auditor proposes enactment and implementation of national disaster risk management law and policy.
NDOC, the report says, should work with the Office of the Deputy President and Council of Governors to fast-track the clarification and gazettement of disaster risk management functions of national and county governments.
The NDOC is expected to be the lead coordinator, but the report states that it is not legally constituted and lacks the legal backing to supervise players in the emergency response system.
The directorate, the report adds, has only five technical staff yet it is expected to undertake relief and rehabilitation for disasters in the country.
“The audit has found lack of prioritisation of contingency planning as the country lacks contingency plans at the national level and in most counties,” it says.
“The response at both levels of government is based on an ad hoc mechanism with no prior planning.”
The government has also been faulted for failing to involve locals in flood response, especially during evacuation of victims.
The report shows that the community, who are first responders, do not have the requisite training and lack tools and equipment necessary to undertake evacuations.
“All the shortcomings affect the ability of the government to respond to humanitarian emergencies brought about by floods and require the attention of the concerned actors to resolve them,” the report says.
The auditor wants county commissioners to work closely with county governments to develop and implement a framework for community engagement in flood response activities.