That Kenya is ill-prepared for disaster management has never been a secret.
Be it flooding, drought, pandemics or collapsed buildings, major fire incidents or terror attacks, national and county government officials are left running around like headless chickens without a good grasp on how to deal with the situation.
Now a report by the Auditor General on disaster preparedness confirms that county governments are either poorly prepared, or not at all, to respond to emergencies.
The report shows that most counties are not budgeting for unforeseen eventualities while others have diverted the little funds set aside to respond to tragedies.
Last year's El Nino rains were a clear example of lack of preparedness at the national and county levels. This despite Kenyan and international weather experts giving advance warnings and regular updates.
Watch when a building collapses in any major town. The rescue mission ends up being more than a comedy of errors than a rush to save the lives of those trapped in the building.
Setting up an emergency plan and having a well-funded and working disaster management team is like taking an insurance policy.
You never know when an emergency will arise but at least you live knowing that you are covered.
Disaster preparedness is not a luxury or a back burner item for the national and county governments, but a requisite and important backup.
Quote of the day: "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire."
Mahatma Gandhi
He raised a lump of mud and salt at the end of the Salt March on April 6, 1930
