This report is a comprehensive review of Kenya’s Arid Lands Resources Management Project (ALRMP2). ALRMP2 was a community-based drought management project of the Kenya Government (GoK) that utilised a credit facility from the World Bank.
The project had components to promote capacity building in recognition of the constraints and potential of the natural environment; generate development capacity at the community level and below to empower communities to take greater charge of their own development agenda. It was however marred with allegations of corruption following which audits on it were carried out.
This report addresses the audits undertaken on the project, analyzing the concerns raised therein; it highlights the gaps that existed and also what needs to be done in order to ensure effective tracking and monitoring disbursement of public funds to ensure that the funds allocated to meet specific community needs are used for their intended objectives. As Kenya launches a major experiment in the decentralization of development revenues to the counties, Kenyans should take away from the ALRMP experience, concerns about the level of corruption that can flourish in decentralized development.