Siaya County Government Allocates KES 257.7 Million to Inexistent Fire Station

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Serious concerns have been raised by concentious residents of Siaya over a recurrent allocation in the budget for the construction and maintenance of a fire station that does not exist.

The dubious fire station first appeared in the county government budget of 2018/2019 with an allocation of KES 50 million, ostensibly, for purposes of “construction”.

Screenshot of Siaya County Budget Estimates showing one of the numerous budgetary allocations for an imaginary fire station.

In the 2019/2020 budget a further KES 12 million was allocated for the “construction” of the same facility.

The 2020/2021 indicates a whopping KES 180 million allocated for “construction of a fire station, purchase of 1 fire engine and assorted equipment.”

Subsequently in the 2021/2022 budget KES 500,000 was allocated to the fencing of the land where the fire station stands.

As if to put icing on the cake in the 2022/2023 KES 15.2 million was allocated to the “construction of a fire station”.

In total KES 257.7 million was allocated to a dubious, inexistent project that neither this nor the former administration bothered to follow up on.

Lying about a critical emergency service as the construction and equipping of a fire station is diabolic, heinous and sadly the topic has never taken centre-stage in the discourse of the Nyalore Administration.

We called a County Executive to clarify this disturbing issue and here’s our conversation.

DalanewsKe: Does Siaya have a fire station?

County Executive: No

DalanewsKe: Is the firefighter truck operational?

County Executive: I don’t know

Governor Orengo receiving the donation of a firefighter truck. Photo | X

On 12 June 2024 Siaya Governor James Aggrey Bob Orengo was photographed beside a man of Caucasian origin with the caption: “A fire-fighting ladder truck worth KES 245 million donated to Siaya County by the mayor of Taber Town in Canada. Siaya County, we have a plan for you.”

Whether there’s a plan or not, this truck too just like it’s phantom predecessors has never been seen in Siaya town. Siaya residents are now concerned that while the County Government PR department is busy preparing resumes on the hits and misses of the Orengo admininistration they are not telling the public how serious they are in addressing issues of disaster preparedness and management.

They should confirm whether the two vehicles idling at the Public Works compound are functional.