SENSITIZATION OF ASSEMBLY BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBERS ON CLIMATE CHANGE FINANCING
The directorate of climate change with support from partners engaged the county assembly budget committee members in bid to unlock funding for climate change mitigation.
Homa Bay could soon join counties which have enacted a legislation that will allocate resources for climate change action.
County Director for Climate Change, Mr. Roy Odongo with senior officials from partners HIVOS Consumer Unit Trust (CUTS) held a meeting with county assembly budget committee members led by their speaker, Rt.Hon. Julius Gaya in Homa Bay.
Hon. Julius Gaya, said the passage of the bill, policy and regulations is at an advanced stage as it was already tabled at the house floor for debate.
“The climate change bill is due for public participation, and we are committed to implementing climate change action plan this financial year,” Gaya said.
The Speaker said the county assembly will equally allocate enough resources to the committees which include; Water, Environment and Health to help mitigate climate issues.
Mr. Roy Odongo reiterated the importance of climate change financing, stressing the key role the house committee plays in implementation of the plan.
“The climate change bill enactment will unlock donor funding for climate change programmes, thereby benefiting the county,” Odongo said.
He said the World Bank-funded programme on Financing Locally Led Climate Change Action (FLLCCA) required that the county passes the Climate Change Bill, policy and regulations. The programme aims to support the government of Kenya in strengthening local resilience to the effects of climate change and will include decentralized financing on community-led actions, technology and innovations.
County Assembly Budget committee members present at the meeting were Majority leader, Hon. Richard Ogindo, Hon. Jeff Ongoro, Hon. Nicholas Owaka and Hon. Nura Odongo among others.