Uwezo Fund inaccessible, lament Nairobi residents

 

NAIROBI, KENYA: Nairobi residents on Friday sought answers from the government on the distribution of Uwezo Fund and numerous challenges in the constitution more-so devolution.

The residents, gathering in Nairobi at the sixth edition of UNDP sponsored sikika sasa live show on KTN, noted that it was hard for many to access the Sh5.3 billion Uwezo Fund meant for women and youth.

"Many women in Nairobi are currently suffering from high cost of living, the government’s fund meant for us to initiate small businesses is hard to access," said Nelly, a Nairobi Hustler.

"What are the issues hindering access to the Uwezo Fund," she inquired.

Responding to her concern, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru said the government has already disbursed Sh4.2 billion of the money to Constituency Uwezo Fund Committees.

"The only problem is that demand for the Fund outstrips what we have, many people are turning out for the money and it is proving to be difficult to loan each," she said. "The good news is that we are in partnership with companies such as Coca Cola and Toyota to expand access."

According to Waiguru, the government allocates a maximum of between Sh17-19 million of the fund to each constituency which translates to about Sh9 million for women and youth each. “The money is not enough for larger constituencies such as Nairobi."

On devolution, the Cabinet Secretary noted that it was not realistic for counties to be given 45 per cent of resources. She said resource distribution should be pegged on functions that each county undertake.

"It is not possible to give counties the 45 per cent, allocation of resources should be based on functions of each county. The national government should also not be sterved since it still has functions to discharge," she said.

Nairobi residents had a field day with Dr Evans Kidero and Ekuru Aukot who were in the panel discussing devolution since its inception.

Kidero underscored need to respect the role of county governments to make devolution a reality. He agitated for more funds to the counties and took issue with the development committee meant to supervise governors.

“I am for the referendum calling for more resource allocation to the counties, the money that we currently have is very little, counties have been reduced to paying salaries, no much development due to constrain in resources,” he said.

Ekuru Aukot who was the Executive Director of the Committee of Experts in the constitution urged Kenyans not to be hard on the constitution as it was referenced beyond the borders.

“We don’t say our constitution is perfect but it should be given time, Governors should document functions they can do and do budgeting laying emphasis before agitating for more money,” he said.