Institutional Framework

At present there are over twenty (20) institutions and departments under the umbrella of different ministries albeit others being semi-autonomous; which deal with environmental issues in Kenya. Some of the key institutions which are relevant to the proposed project are discussed in table 3-4 below.

Table 3-4 Key National Institutions in relation to proposed project Institutions /

Departments

Key Mandate

National Environmental Tribunal

▪ The National Environment Tribunal (NET) created under Section 125 of EMCA Cap 387 has the following functions:

➢ To hear and determine appeals from NEMA’s decisions and other actions relating to issuance, revocation or denial of (EIA) licenses or amount of money to be paid under the Act and imposition of restoration orders;

➢ To give direction to NEMA on any matter of complex nature referred to it by the Director General; and

If the proponent or any other stakeholder disagree with NEMA decisions in exercising the above-mentioned functions, then they may lodge a case at the NET to seek to overturn the decision. Should this avenue not lead to a favourable ruling from the NET, an appeal may be lodged in the Environment and Land Court.

National Environment Complaints Committee

▪ The National Environment Complaints Committee performs the following functions:

➢ Investigate any allegations or complaints against any person or against the authority in relation to the condition of the environment in Kenya and on its

own motion, any suspected case of environmental degradation and to make a report of its findings together with its recommendations thereon to the Cabinet Secretary.

➢ Prepare and submit to the Cabinet Secretary periodic reports of its activities which shall form part of the annual report on the state of the environment under section 9 (3) and

➢ To undertake public interest litigation on behalf of the citizens in environmental matters.

This committee will act as a safeguard for members of the public who feel aggrieved by actions taken under the proposed producer organisation project and can exercise their constitutional rights to launch a complaint should they have exhausted all other grievance redress mechanisms available to them.

National Environment Management Authority (NEMA)

▪ The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) exercises general supervision and, co-ordination of all matters relating to the environment.

▪ NEMA is also the principal instrument of the government in the implementation of all policies relating to the environment.

▪ NEMA is also the Designated National Authority for certain Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

The Authority reviews EIA comprehensive project report for the proposed project, visits the project sites to verify information provided in the report and issues EIA licenses if it considers that all the issues relevant to proposed project have been identified and mitigation measures to manage them have been proposed.

The Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSHS)

▪ The Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSHS) is one of departments within the Ministry of Labour and East African Community Affairs, whose primary objective is to ensure safety, health and welfare of all workers in all workplaces.

DOSHS is a key stakeholder based on the role they play regarding safety, health and welfare of all workers in all workplaces and in registration of all workplaces which are envisioned in the proposed project.

Water Resources Authority (2016)

WRA is a state corporation established under Section 11 of the Water Act, 2016.

The objective of the new WRA is to protect, conserve, control and regulate use of water resources through the establishment of a national water resource strategy. In addition, the WRA is responsible for formulation and enforcement of standards, procedures and regulation for the management and use of water resources, policy development, planning and issuing of water abstraction permits and setting and collecting permits and water use fees.

County Environment Committee

This replaced the Provincial and District Environmental Committees which was repealed with the amendment in EMCA 2015. County Environment Committee also contribute to decentralized environmental management and enable the participation of local communities.

▪ The County Environment Committee is charged with the responsibility to

▪ be responsible for the proper management of the environment within the county for which it is appointed;

▪ develop a county strategic environmental action plan every five years; and

▪ Perform additional functions that are prescribed by this Act or as may, from to time, be assigned by the Governor by notice in the Gazette.

The committee will be on hand to participate in decision making on the project’s environmental performance should that be necessary in the future.

National Gender

& Equality Commission (NGEC)

The National Gender Equality Commission is a successor commission to the Kenya National Human Rights and Equality Commission pursuant to Article 59 of the Constitution. The over-arching goal for NGEC is to contribute to the reduction of gender inequalities and the discrimination against all; women, men, persons with disabilities, the youth, children, the elderly, minorities and marginalized communities

Ministry of Public Service,

Youth and

Gender Affairs

The Ministry has a directorate of Youth to represent youth concerns in Kenya. This was necessary against the reality that despite their numerical strength, youth were not well represented in the national, political and socio-economic development processes.

The state department of Gender is mandated to promote gender mainstreaming in national development processes and champion socio-economic empowerment of women. Gender rights and gender equality are entrenched in the Constitution of Kenya 2010, and the department has the responsibility of expanding credit financing to women for enterprise development and ensure equality in gender representation in all public appointments