The news
NAIROBI – Kenya’s president is facing increasing criticism over his handling of the country’s worst floods in three decades, even as his government steps up its response to the devastation and the resulting political fallout.
president William RutoThe country is under increasing pressure to declare the situation a national disaster in response to flooding in several parts of the country, which has killed more than 150 people and displaced over 150,000. Criticism follows about the speed of the government’s response and its preparedness.
Those calling for a declaration of a national disaster hope the government can respond more efficiently to the needs of victims across the country, especially as the country’s weather agency predicts more heavy rains in the coming days.
Flooding has damaged transport infrastructure including roads and bridges and disrupted access to several areas. First responders, institutions and political leaders are among those who have called on Ruto to declare a state of disaster. This would allow more resources to be allocated to rescue and recovery efforts and to assess damage to key infrastructure such as roads, bridges and railways.
But Ruto expressed his reluctance to declare a disaster, telling the BBC that providing resources to affected areas was the “more pressing priority”. Speaking during Labor Day celebrations in Nairobi on May 1, Ruto said the government would prioritize relocating people in the city’s hard-hit informal settlements into new housing units currently under construction under his government’s controversial affordable housing program be built.
“The government has talked a lot about climate change, but when the threat hits with full force, we are unprepared,” opposition leader Raila Odinga said on Tuesday, questioning why emergency plans were not put in place after the weather bureau offered early warnings of possible flooding in at least seven regions of the country.
Learn more
The Institute of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) is among the groups calling for a disaster to be declared. She attributed the flooding to, among other things, developers’ disregard for planning and development regulations, which led to the blockage of waterways.
The association called for measures to prepare for the impacts of climate change, including a review of zoning policies and aerial mapping of affected areas. “We must proactively respond to this crisis with comprehensive measures, recognizing that the likelihood of future, potentially more severe flooding events cannot be ignored,” said ISK President Eric Nyadimo.
Almost two weeks after the flooding began, the military began arriving in various affected areas on Wednesday, May 1, under Ruto’s orders, to support rescue and recovery efforts. The central Kenyan town of Maai Mahiu, where 70 people died in landslides earlier this week, is among the areas where the military is deployed.
Martin’s view
The response by government authorities in flood-affected areas was in many cases slow and inadequate.
“Many people here who are now displaced still have nowhere to go, some don’t even have food,” Joseph Ndung’u, a resident of Mathare, Nairobi, told Semafor Africa. He questioned the government’s efforts. “We (in the community) are the ones who help each other.”
Many residents of the Mathare informal settlement had to sleep on their roofs and are now displaced. Community-based organizations, aid agencies such as the Red Cross and residents of affected communities have so far played an important role in supporting victims and filling the gaps where government agencies were missing.
The deployment of the military is expected to give a boost to response efforts. However, it is also important to find long-term solutions, including reviewing and enforcing planning and zoning regulations, which developers often circumvent by bribing government officials at various levels.
The view from Tanzania
There were also devastating heavy rains and floods in the East African countries of Tanzania and Burundi. The death toll from the floods in Tanzania currently stands at 155.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa told Parliament on April 25 that over 200,000 people and around 50,000 households had been affected by rainfall and flooding since January.
He warned of continued rain and advised people in affected areas to move to higher ground.
