Assessing the effectiveness of locally-led public good climate investments in water infrastructure in Garissa County

The 2023 study found that none of the five water infrastructure investments in Garissa County were fully functional, with three partially functional and two non-functional. The primary drivers of failure were a lack of dedicated budgets for operations and maintenance (O&M), capacity gaps in local management, and limited early engagement with water institutions. The report recommends establishing sustainable financing mechanisms, integrating renewable energy to lower costs, and strengthening the technical and project management skills of local site committees.

• As of 2023, none of the five assessed water infrastructure investments were fully functional; three were classified as partially functional and two as non-functional.
• The sustainability of water security is undermined by Garissa County Climate Change legislation that prioritises new investments while providing no budget for the operations and maintenance (O&M) of existing infrastructure.
• A lack of O&M funding led to the total failure of two investments between 2019 and 2023, specifically due to the inability to replace ageing parts or repair pump and genset failures.
• There is a significant capacity gap in the management of these investments; although site committees exist for all projects, very few members have received training in facility management or basic maintenance skills.
• Limited engagement with relevant water institutions during the design phase restricted their subsequent support, as the investments were viewed as solely community-owned and managed.
• Non-functional investments have experienced community abandonment, which has accelerated system deterioration and led to the vandalism of components.

APA

Jebiwott, A., Osumba, J., Orindi, V., Ododa, K., Magoma, I., Hussein, A., Mohammed, S., Karaho, E., Harikishun, A., & Redda, R. (2024). Assessing the effectiveness of locally-led public good climate investments in water infrastructure in Garissa County. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/Technical%20Brief_Garissa_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Jebiwott, Alice, Joab Osumba, Victor Orindi, Kennedy Ododa, Ivy Magoma, Abdi Hussein, Suleiman Mohammed, et al. Assessing the effectiveness of locally-led public good climate investments in water infrastructure in Garissa County. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2024. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/Technical%20Brief_Garissa_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{jebiwott2024assessing, author = {Jebiwott, Alice and Osumba, Joab and Orindi, Victor and Ododa, Kennedy and Magoma, Ivy and Hussein, Abdi and Mohammed, Suleiman and Karaho, Esperanza and Harikishun, Ameil and Redda, Robi}, title = {{Assessing the effectiveness of locally-led public good climate investments in water infrastructure in Garissa County}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2024}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/Technical%20Brief_Garissa_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }