Residents of Northern Kenya have opposed a proposed law seeking to abolish regional development authorities, warning that the move could undermine access to water, livestock production and livelihoods in arid and semi-arid areas.
During a public participation forum in Isiolo town, residents unanimously rejected the Regional Development Authorities (Repeal) Bill, sponsored by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, and urged the government to strengthen the institutions rather than dissolve them.
The parliamentary committee on regional development, chaired by Kigumo MP Joseph Munyoro, heard submissions from residents and stakeholders who said the Ewaso Ng’iro Development Authority (ENNDA) had played a critical role in addressing water scarcity, reducing resource-based conflicts and supporting pastoral communities.
Residents argued that the authority’s investments in boreholes, water pans, dams and livestock feedlots had improved living conditions in communities frequently affected by drought and limited infrastructure.
In Burat Ward, Isiolo County, residents said an ENNDA-supported borehole water project had eased years of hardship caused by unreliable water supplies.
Fatuma Adan said she previously relied on traditional water-scooping methods along riverbeds and sometimes walked more than 20 kilometres in search of water before the project was launched last month.
“We have had water challenges for a very long time. Sometimes we seek county interventions, but they are not sustainable. With this project, we are grateful because we will now have clean water for domestic use, learners and the mosque,” she said.
Adan added that the project had connected households to piped water and provided storage tanks, reducing the burden of fetching water over long distances.
“Every household has piped water and a storage tank. It is like we are living in town, and our lives have improved,” she said.
Another beneficiary, Fauzia Hussein, said improved water access had enabled her to establish a kitchen garden and plant trees around her homestead, activities that had previously been difficult because of shortages.
“We no longer have water challenges. Women have suffered a lot while fetching water, but that is now becoming a thing of the past,” Hussein said.
She added that more than 600 households benefiting from the project were being encouraged to grow vegetables and plant trees, improving food production and environmental conservation.
In Chumvi, an area serving communities in Buuri and Laikipia, residents are also benefiting from a water pan constructed by ENNDA.
Susan Napeiyo said prolonged drought had threatened livelihoods for years, but the availability of water was gradually transforming the dry landscape through irrigation and supporting renewed hopes for improved food production.
Established in 1989 through an Act of Parliament, ENNDA has implemented development projects across the Ewaso Ng’iro basin, including Laikipia County.
In Laikipia North, a dam valued at Sh65.5 million serves more than 30,000 pastoralists in Doldol and surrounding areas.
Residents warned that abolishing the authority could interrupt ongoing and future interventions, particularly in communities vulnerable to drought, water scarcity and livestock losses.
Engineer Joseph Mulwa told the committee that the proposed dissolution lacked a clear baseline assessment demonstrating why the regional development authorities should be abolished.
He argued that concerns about overlapping mandates could be addressed through better coordination and institutional restructuring instead of dissolving agencies that had served communities for decades.
“Regional development authorities undertake very serious functions. They coordinate because water, rangelands, wildlife and trees do not recognize administrative boundaries, just as the needs of children and women in arid regions do not. We owe them a duty not to abolish their golden camel,” Mulwa told the committee.
Isiolo resident Said Buke warned that repealing the law establishing ENNDA would threaten the livelihoods of communities that depend on its interventions.
“This institution cuts across ten counties, and the functions it performs are crucial to the livelihoods of the people of Northern Kenya. Repealing these authorities means threatening the livelihoods of our people,” he said.
Buke said allocations to county governments were insufficient to meet the region’s development needs and called on the national government to increase ENNDA’s budget and strengthen its operations.
Jane Wayuwa, a pastoralist from Marsabit County, said the authority had helped cushion vulnerable households against drought and livestock losses.
She added that its programmes had created livelihood opportunities and employment for pastoral women, enabling some to support their families and educate their children.
Wayuwa urged the government to review the authority’s operations and improve service delivery rather than abolish an institution she described as a lifeline for dryland communities.
Embu County Woman Representative Pamela Njoki, a member of the parliamentary committee, urged residents to engage their elected leaders to ensure their views were represented when the Bill was debated in Parliament.
“You have spoken loudly, and we can only emphasize that you talk to your leaders whom you elected so that when this Bill is brought to Parliament, they are not absent. They should be there to say what you have said, since you have rejected it in totality,” she said.
Banisa MP Ahmed Hassan pledged to oppose the proposed dissolution, assuring residents that he would defend the authority’s continued existence.
Munyoro assured participants that the committee would present their views accurately and fairly as part of the legislative process.
Other regional development agencies facing similar proposed abolition include the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA), Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA), Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA), Ewaso Ng’iro South Development Authority (ENSDA) and Coastal Development Authority (CDA).
The proposal has attracted opposition from communities and stakeholders concerned about its potential effects on regional development, particularly in underserved areas.
Meanwhile, the Integrated Regional Development programme under the State Department for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands was allocated Sh3.5 billion for the 2026/2027 financial year.
The funds are intended to support water projects, environmental conservation, drought and emergency interventions, and food security initiatives.
Residents called for increased funding and better coordination of regional development programmes, arguing that regional authorities remained essential in addressing the distinct challenges facing arid and semi-arid communities.
By Muturi Mwangi
