​The Senate Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations has directed the County Executive of Kilifi to urgently establish functional sewerage infrastructure in Malindi before the onset of anticipated El Nino rains. 

The directive, aimed at mitigating a catastrophic cholera outbreak and public health crisis, was issued during the committee's oversight visit yo Malindi Municipality Board Offices as part of the ongoing Senate Mashinani initiative.

​Senators expressed alarm over the total absence of a sewer line in Malindi Municipality, warning that the imminent heavy rainfall coupled with severe drainage deficiencies poses a severe threat to residents. 

Highlighting the life-threatening conditions facing the town, Committee Chairperson Senator Mohamed Abbas issued a stark warning regarding local vulnerability: "I feel for this municipality. If elnino hits, Malindi residents will die of cholera."

While Malindi Municipality was conferred municipal status in March 2019 and assigned seventeen devolved functions, supported by over Ksh916.3 Million in equitable share and Urban Development Grants between 2020/2021 and 2024/2025 Finacial Years, Senators noted that basic infrastructure remains dangerously absent.

​Committee members heavily criticized the municipal leadership over basic operational standards and service delivery gaps, with Senator Prof. Margaret Kamar reaffirming the statutory definition of an urban center. 

"A municipality cannot be a municipality, if it has no sewer line," Senator Kamar submitted. 

Concurrently, financial accountability came under sharp focus as lawmakers questioned the centralized collection of local revenues by the county executive versus actual service delivery on the ground. 

Committee Vice Chairperson Senator Catherine Mumma challenged the administration's fiscal practices, stating, "Why are you collecting money from the rates and not delivering services? You're shortchanging people."

​Defending the municipal board's response to the impending climate shock, Board Chairperson Suleiman Salim Omar explained that capital allocations had been hastily diverted toward flood mitigation. 

"We have had to collapse some development projects that we are intending to do to make a deliberate effort on tackling the El Nino," Omar stated.

​Municipal Manager Furaha Chome further outlined the administrative framework, noting that out of 276 municipal staff, the majority are deployed as street and drainage cleaners to maintain basic sanitation.

​Unsatisfied with piecemeal interventions, the Senate committee resolved to summon the Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung'aro in an effort to compel the County Chief to provide a clear roadmap, budget commitments, and a binding timeline for constructing comprehensive sewerage and drainage infrastructure to permanently protect Malindi residents.