One of the fire engines owned by Siaya County Government.
If a fire were to break out in Siaya today, be rest assured that property would go up in flames and very little would be salvaged, worse still people might lose lives due to lack of a fire station or prompt response.
The past ugly accidents within the county have seen property worth millions reduced to ashes, with the recent case being the Malanga-Gem sub-county fuel tanker claiming the lives of 32 people.
Ironically, since 2018, the county budget has always had allocation for constructing a fire station; but on the ground not even a foundation has been put in place.
In the 2018/19 financial year, a total of Sh50 million was allocated towards the construction of a fire station; in 2019/2020, 12 million was allocated towards the same project.
In the 2021/22 Financial year, Sh180 million was reserved for the same project, the construction of a fire station and purchase of a fire engine, and in the year 2021/22, the final term of the previous regime, a total of Sh500,000 meant for fencing station.
Despite those millions being allocated for the project, nothing is visible on the ground.
This has created concerns from different stakeholders in the county with the civil society groups castigating the county government for failing to implement such an important project.
Even though the previous government led by Mr Cornel Rasanga purchased two fire engines, the fire station has always been on paper.
The fire engines are always packed at the Public Works Department.
Community Initiative Action Group Kenya (CIAG) Director Chris Owala, however, points an accusing finger at the legislative wing of the county government claiming that they have failed on their oversight mandate.
“Since 2018, the project of the fire station has been rolled over every financial year. This is contrary to the requirements of the medium-term expenditure frame which states that a project should not be rolled over more than three times,” he said.
Mr Owala further pointed out that the trick that the assembly was using enables them divert the funds to other projects which it feels are not essential and beneficial to the people.
“The budget-making process is normally accompanied by adequate public participation where the people decide on the project that they want to be implemented for them,” he said.
“Once the budget is passed with the projects proposed by the people, the same assembly re-introduces a supplementary budget with totally new projects that are not a priority to the members of the public. It is sad that sometimes funds meant for projects are diverted to travel and allowances.”
Mr Owala claims that the County Assembly is holding the executive to ransom.
“The two arms of government have found a point of convergence where they defile the budget for their selfish interests. The people, who are supposed to be served by the budget have remained helpless,” he noted.
Mr Owala further claims that many projects that have gobbled millions of taxpayers’ money have stalled in Siaya simply because the budgets are never respected.
“It is a requirement that a supplementary budget is introduced when there is an emergency, however, having a single project in four subsequent budgets and failing to implement it is a sign that the project is not that important and should not be in the budget,” he added.
When Nation.Africa contacted Usonga Ward MCA, Mr Sylvester Madialo, also the Chair of Budget Committee in Siaya County Assembly, but his phone calls went unanswered.
When asked about the recurrent allocation for the fire station without a tangible project on the ground, Siaya County Director of Planning and Budget, Mr Lawrence Kenyatta said: "Our work is to compile the budget, on implementation please consult the relevant department."
Siaya County Chief Officer for Governance Mr Walter Okelo told Nation.Africa that the project has been rolled over partly because of the state of the land that was to be used in the construction.
“The current regime had an allocation of Sh15.2 million meant for the fire station. However, the funds were diverted towards other urgent projects,” said Mr Okelo.
The Chief Officer, however, pointed out that the land that had been allocated for construction of the fire station according to the 1979 Plan has been encroached and evacuation has been a problem.
“Over time, people have encroached on the land which is directly opposite the Siaya Stadium. This might have been a contributing factor towards the delay of the construction of the fire station,” he added.
He went on: “Currently there is an ongoing construction of a modern market by the national government and there are plans underway to consider integrating the fire station within.”
