Trans Nzoia County assembly tabled a proposed budget for 2021-22 financial year worth 8.44Billion with more than 3 billion money will be for development while the remaining above 5 Billion that will be for recurrent expenditure with the assembly failing to approve appropriation Bill.
In a statement read by the Budget and Appropriation committee Chair in the assembly David Kisaka stated that department wise, Health ministry will take a 30 percent of the Budget while Works department had a grant of 254 million as KRB Roads in last year’s Budget and that this year it was removed prompting the county to allocate another 182
million for the said department to undertake the functions that KRB was doing.
He however expressed his dissatisfaction in the manner the implementation part of the county Government has been running its affairs claiming that it has not been open how it has been spending allocated monies to their relevant ministries by the assembly.
He noted that after approving last year’s budget the departments has not been able to account for the funds allocated and not able to respond to questions put across by the MCAs giving a case of construction and equipping of referral hospital which the management presented a proposed Budget of 213 million and budget line was construction and equipping claiming the management has failed to satisfy Health committee especially on giving a breakdown on how much was needed for equipping and construction and the items needed so that they have the actual items claiming as a committee it wanted to have the actual items that was needed.
He pointed out that basing on the managements inability to work together with the relevant committees in the house concerning how they were supposed to shed more light on their intended expenditure of various items has made the assembly to table the budget approve it but not passed the appropriation bill claiming the management has the budget but don’t have authority to spend anything until the programme based budget is tabled in the house that will give way for the assembly to approve the appropriation Bill.
Implementation committee member in the assembly Cheshari Mogusu called upon the executive to come with itemized budget immediately to make sure that it was easier for both the ward specific plus executive development money be addressed and that should be uploaded calling upon the executive to avoid the excuses that they had closed the system highlighting areas that the assembly has given more oversight as referral hospital construction, Business center and Stadium as areas that funds had been embezzled by the county administration.
However, the decision by the assembly not to pass the appropriation bill has been condemned by Human rights activists led by Kepha Were saying MCAs under their relevant committees want the administration to bribe them before passing the bill claiming some of the excuses they had given does not hold water as they knew funds were being embezzled by the county administration much earlier and kept quiet blaming them for waiting for the time of Budget tabling to raise such corruption issues
Were claimed most MCAS have been lords of corruption as they kept on making several tours to Kisumu where they were compromised by the executive and passed laws that were not beneficial to the residents as well as remained mum as the county was mismanaged under the hands of executive.
He appealed to locals never to re-elect the current MCAs in the next year’s elections as they have proved to care about their welfare and not represent wananchi effectively as most of them went to bed with the executive.