One of the main activities promoted under the DMI is the creation of a National Drought Contingency Fund (NDCF). The Fund will allow contribution from both GoK and donors (a multi-donor basket fund) and have the capacity to disburse funds to drought-prone affected districts in a flexible, effective and efficient way.

To this end, the Project has finalised the preparation of all documentation needed for the establishment of the NDCF, i.e. trust deed, legal notice, financial and operation manuals, Early Warning System (EWS) and drought response manuals, among others. The legalisation of the NDCF is expected to officially start before the end of this year (2009).

Institutionalisation and mainstreaming of structures

The District Drought Management Units (DDMUs) are responsible for the coordination of district early warning systems, contingency planning, disbursement of contingency funds, drought mitigation and preparedness.

While the NDCF will have its legal identity as per the Section 26 of the Government Financial Management Act of 2004, DDMUs are project structures which do not own legal status and will terminate at the end of ALRMP in June 2010 unless institutionalised and mainstreamed within Government of Kenya (GOK) structure.

It is important to note that the NDCF won't be able to operate without the functioning of the DDMU and therefore the formalisation of these offices is paramount for the overall drought management system in Kenya. To address this gap, it is proposed the creation of a Drought Management Authority (DMA) with overall responsibility for coordination of drought related activities and therefore it is required developing all legal requirements for its establishment.

Based on this need, the DMI has facilitated the preparation of all legal documents required for establishment of DMA. The authority will have semi-autonomous status and clear responsibilities in drought management.