"House Committee Pushes for Increased Budget as Environmental Bills Await Action"

 

 

The Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Hon. Aden Duale together with all the Departments and Agencies under his purview have been challenged to consider clearing all pending bills under their watch even as they called on the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining to help push for more funding to their dockets. 

In a Committee sitting held yesterday to discuss the Supplementary Estimates No. 2 for the financial year 2024/2025, members of the Environment Committee pointed out Ksh. 440.5 million as the total cost of bills yet to be cleared by the State Department for Environment and Climate Change. 

Additionally, the Committee led by Vice Chairperson Hon. Charles Kamuren also pointed out a total of Ksh. 1.91 billion and Ksh. 169.6 million of pending bills in the State Departments for Forestry and Mining respectively as of 30th September 2024. 

Hon. Titus Lotee (Kacheliba) sought to know what the Ministry and the three State Departments under it's purview are doing to put the money into circulation.

"You are asking this Committee to intervene so that you are allocated more funds to realise your projects in NEMA, Lake Naivasha Basin Ecosystem - Based management project and Kenya ETF Reporting programme to the UNFCCC project, however you must tell us how you are going to settle the pending bills", Hon. Lotee. 

In his response, the Hon. CS Duale called on the Committee to consider all the requests made by the three State Departments to be able to support projects in the Meteorological Department which needs enhancement, National Environment Trust Fund and many other bodies. 

"Hon. Members, pending bills is a hudge problem in our country and I think the Cabinet is going to make a decision on this next week, some of this bills are fictitious, what the president is doing is to protect public money from swindlers, a decision will be made in this supplementary to see some of this bills paid, however we call on your support as a committee", Hon. Duale added. 

Hon. Kamuren used the opportunity to call on the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to come up with mechanisms to enhance their revenue collection so as to avoid dependency. 

Earlier the PS for Mining Mr. Elijah Mwangi also presented his Supplementary Estimates No. 2 of 2024/2025. 

Hon. Kamuren together with Hon. Beatrice Kemei (Kericho) asked that all the top leadership in the Mining Department appears before the Committee to shed light on revenue collection, licencing, enforcement and other issues around mining in the Country. 

The Committee also asked that PS Mwangi furnishes them with the total sum of money they are collecting from royalties and also reveals what they are allowed to spend. 

PS Mwangi however acknowledged the support the State Department for mining has gotten from the Committee on Environment in terms of legislation to streamline the mining sector.

March 07, 2025