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Taita Taveta Deputy Governor Christine Kilalo, has urged Members of County Assembly (MCAs) to allocate a portion of the Ward Equalisation Funds towards the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) programme initiatives.

Speaking during a recent engagement with the MCAs, she said the initiative will go a long way to address the devastating effects of climate change bedevilling the county.

By allocating part of the Ward Equalisation Fund towards the climate action, Kilalo said it would assign funds to the county contribution and assist the county align with FLLoCA requirements, ultimately attracting the much-needed climate financing.

“Allocations in projects touching on water, agriculture, clean energy, and the environment, especially on tree-growing, will go a long way in mitigating the devastating effects of climate change,” she said.

Carbon credit markets

She further highlighted the benefits of deepened intergovernmental relations between National and County Governments.

“This will ensure that proper budget allocations are done in devolved sectors and that county governments get to properly implement initiatives at a grassroots level,” she advised.

On the other hand, the County Executive Committee Member for Water, Sanitation, Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources, Grantone Mwandawiro, also discussed the amendments made to the County Climate Change Act 2021, which include the introduction of carbon credit markets.

The MCAs agreed that climate mitigation initiatives at the ward level would help reverse the effects of climate change in the County.

Unlike in the past when weather patterns were almost predictable and rainfall reliable, today Taita Taveta County is characterised by the drying up of water sources, poor food yields, and erratic weather patterns. Water levels in most water sources have drastically dwindled.

Most of the rivers have been reduced to rocky contours and dams that once flourishing dams have now been filled with heavy deposits of silts resulting in recurrent water shortage in parts of the county.