The Deputy Chief of Staff for Performance and Delivery Management in the Executive Office of the President, Mr. Eliud Owalo, on Tuesday announced that there is going to be strategic shift in government funding, linking performance management and evaluation to financial support.
Ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) that significantly contribute to the national development agenda will receive increased funding, while underperforming entities risk being phased out.
“Moving forward, we are going to tie performance management and performance evaluation to reward management so that we allocate more money to organizations that add more value to the government’s development agenda,” said Mr. Owalo.
He emphasized the importance of innovation and self-sufficiency among state agencies, urging them to develop independent revenue streams rather than relying solely on the exchequer.
“The directions we are taking as a government is that we are not going to have organizations that are perpetually underperforming continue to be a drain on the exchequer.
These organizations should be allowed to die their natural deaths,” he cautioned while addressing the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority (NWHSA) leadership during a performance contract evaluation for the 2023/2024 fiscal year.
NWHSA Board Chairperson, CPA Symon Kimaru, highlighted financial constraints as a major hurdle, citing prolonged project timelines and limited fiscal space.
“One of the major challenges we face as an organization is that our projects run for very long periods, and our fiscal space is constantly squeezed. It is not even possible to launch new projects due to budgetary limitations,” he said.
The evaluation will assess NWHSA’s performance against key indicators, including financial stewardship, fund absorption, service delivery, dam construction and supervision, flood control measures, and water supply enhancement.
Acting CEO, Eng. Julius K. Mugun, reiterated NWHSA’s mandate under the Water Act 2016, which includes developing national public water works for water storage, flood control, and irrigation.
Kenya faces chronic water scarcity, with 80% of the country classified as arid or semi-arid. Annual rainfall averages 630mm, ranging from under 200mm in northern Kenya to over 1,800mm in Mount Kenya’s highlands.
The country’s per capita water availability, estimated at 450 cubic meters in 2021, falls well below the global benchmark of 1,000 cubic meters.
The National Water Master Plan projects a surge in water demand to 47% of available resources by 2030, exacerbated by inadequate water infrastructure and ineffective harvesting policies.
A 2023 UN report underscores global urgency, revealing that 26% of the world’s population lacks access to safe drinking water, while 46% lack safely managed sanitation.