The day is Monday, April 29th. At 3:33 pm, I receive a phone call from a strange number. As usual, I don’t pick up calls from new numbers, so I put it on silent and put it aside. It rings again, and I do the same thing. I almost put it on “do not disturb”, but before I did, a message popped up on the screen, “Mum ni Mimi, Floods zimeuwa wife!” He seemingly was looking for his mum to tell him the bad news. My phone rang again, and I picked it up out of sympathy. It was a humane call to answer the call. I heard agony in his voice as he narrated how the dam broke and swept his newly wedded wife. I did not bother to cut him in and inform him that it was a wrong number, he needed a listener. But is Kenya dialing the wrong numbers during this flood disaster? Are our leaders and institutions in charge of disaster management mistyping a digit? Maybe miscalculating moves? Or are they just ignorant?
Setting: Flooding disaster
Today is among the sad days of the past few weeks; the Mai Mahiu floods have caused so much damage, killing up to 45 people at the time of writing this report. Close to 100 people have been hospitalized. But, the envied capital city is facing floods because of heavy rains. Over 15000 households have been displaced in Nairobi. The worst is that the main airport is also experiencing flooding, just to mention a few instances. Even though all these agonizing experiences are brought by heavy rain, there is more to it than just the weather. Leadership, Institutional and organized failures contribute to slow response and control of the floods.
Mismanagement
Mismanagement during this flood disaster is evident because the Meteorological department repeatedly warned about the impending danger of heavy rains. The response from the Kenyan Government and county governments is way below expectations. It goes down to a lack of proper planning and management in government agencies.
Also, the breaking of the Dark Tunnel Valley dam clearly indicates mismanagement and organized failures as it points to the probable poor infrastructure. The thing is that this poor management and unpreparedness have always been the theme during disasters, yet they remain unaddressed. There is important slowness in progressing policies and strategies to soften disasters like floods. This is not only an aggravating factor, but more alarmingly, it mirrors the failure of the Government to perform its role and ensure its people’s health and security. The habitual event of inaction on the part of experts’ advice and early warning systems sends a serious message of current disaster management.
Bare minimum urban and infrastructure planning and maintenance
Several reports have indicated a lack of adequate regulatory frameworks to book and in-check infrastructure projects effectively. In areas that are prone to flooding, there is no doubt that the infrastructures built there are not strong enough to resist flooding. NGO reports hold that the main problem is underfunding and lack of practical strategies for flood management. Even though there are strategies and policies, strictness is not enough to practically carry out the strategies.
Also, there is a lack of proper maintenance of infrastructures such as dams. Such dams in areas that experience so much flooding need to be maintained also each week. To make matters more complex, less preemptive urban planning is seen in our cities experiencing the worst flooding, with Nairobi and Mombasa at the top. This, as a result, has persistently failed to give adequate emergency services, resulting in communities suffering from disasters that could have been prevented. The organized lack of implementing agreed changes in infrastructure planning and maintenance must be given urgent attention to avoid to make matters more complex casualties and damages.
Corruption and Unaccountability
The financial misappropriation and potential corruption that characterizes the Kenyan disaster management framework raises concerns about the proper utilization of public funds. The trust fund documents display a disappointing tendency where the financial resources allocated to disaster preparedness and infrastructure improvement appear inadequately accounted for. This deficiency in transparency about allocating and spending funds adversely affects the resilience towards natural disasters.
But, the financial investments announced for flood control and dam safety projects are being questioned by the recent dam break catastrophic event in Mai Mahiu, which points out that the money may not be employed on the projects that they are intended for. The consequences of such events catch the ineffective infrastructure by surprise, putting the credibility and sustainability of supervisory systems under question.
Call to Action
It’s time for Kenya to dial the correct digits regarding flood management. Proper planning and management are needed. Cities should strictly follow expert advice on urban planning. Most importantly, there needs to be accountability. The only way for us to never have such experiences is through transparency and effective governance.
