Senator Githuku decries Lamu County’s dismal development absorption rate

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

Sen. Kamau Githuku (Lamu) has raised concerns about Lamu County’s dismal development absorption rate performance.

The legislator’s concerns come after it emerged that in the 2024/2025 financial year, Lamu County spent less than 5 per cent of its expenditure on development. 

While seeking a Statement from the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget on the floor of the House yesterday, Senator Githuku asked the Committee to identify the specific reasons that contributed to Lamu County’s dismal performance and detail any administrative, financial or logistical challenges that hindered development in the first half of the financial year.

He tasked the Mandera Senator Ali Roba led Committee to provide the Senate with a detailed breakdown of the development budget allocated for Lamu County in the first half of the 2024/25 financial year, specifying approved estimates, actual disbursements and expenditure levels.

“While furnishing the Senate with this information, the Finance Committee should disaggregate the unspent development funds by sector, identify affected projects, their budgetary allocations, and the implications of delays or non-implementation,” Senator Githuku remarked.

The former Member of the County Assembly (MCA) also tasked the Committee to assess the implementation status of the County's Annual Development Plan (ADP), detail the project milestones, not deviations from planned timelines and outline corrective measures undertaken.

The Finance Committee will subsequently investigate the matter and outline the fiscal and administrative strategies the County Government has adopted to enhance absorption in the second half of FY 2024/25.

On the same note, the Senator for Lamu County sought another Statement from the Standing Committee on Lands, Environment, and Natural Resources regarding the compensation status of victims of human-wildlife conflicts in Lamu County.

In his request, Senator Githuku asked the Committee to provide a report on all human-wildlife conflict claims from 2022 to date, including details on the nature of claims, incident dates, claim submission dates, amounts claimed and payment dates.

“The Lands Committee must present an update on all paid and pending claims, reasons for non-payment, and the expected timeline for settling outstanding claims to ensure our sons and daughters are compensated,” said the legislator.

He asked the Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki led Committee to specify the standard duration for claim settlement and outline measures to be taken against the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) if payments exceed the stipulated period.

The Lands Committee will look into the matter and state any measures the Government has put in place to curb the rising incidents of human-wildlife conflicts in Lamu County.