The National Treasury is flying blind in the multi-billion shilling war against climate change, with a startling new audit exposing a complete lack of mechanisms to track or account for the massive funds mobilized for environmental protection.

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu’s special report uncovers a systemic failure within the Finance Ministry, raising alarming questions about transparency and the potential loss of billions intended to shield Kenyans from the devastating impacts of global warming. The report reveals that while donors and the exchequer have poured money into the climate basket, there is no central ledger to verify where a single shilling has actually gone.

The Audit Bombshell

Gathungu's findings are a damning indictment of the Treasury's competence. The audit notes that despite Kenya positioning itself as a leader in green finance, the internal systems are archaic. "There is no single repository of climate finance data," the report states. "This opacity creates a fertile ground for misappropriation and duplication of projects." It implies that funds meant for drought mitigation in Turkana could easily be diverted to recurrent expenditure in Nairobi without raising a digital eyebrow.

• The Missing Billions: The report highlights that over the last three financial years, the variance between reported receipts and actual expenditure cannot be reconciled. Billions are simply "floating" in the system, unaccounted for in the final ledgers.
• Accountability Crisis: Environmental activists have seized on the report, demanding the resignation of top Treasury officials. "We are begging the world for climate reparations while we cannot account for what we already have," lamented a spokesperson for the Green Belt Movement.

The Climate Cost

The real victims of this bureaucratic incompetence are the farmers waiting for irrigation dams and the pastoralists watching their cattle die. Without a tracking system, it is impossible to measure the impact of climate interventions. The Auditor-General has given the Treasury a six-month ultimatum to digitize its climate finance reporting or face sanctions.

"We cannot manage what we cannot measure," Gathungu warned. As the climate crisis accelerates, the Treasury's inability to keep its books in order is not just an accounting error; it is an existential threat to the nation's resilience. The ball is now in the Cabinet Secretary's court to stop the leakage.