MCAs pass Sh215m supplementary budget

Kakamega County Assembly attending a special meeting on January 22, 2020. [Benjamin Sakwa/Standard]

The County Assembly of Kakamega has passed a Sh215 million supplementary budget for the 2019/20 financial year.

The budget, unlike other years', was revised upwards by Sh738.4 million. The budget estimates for the county for the financial year 2019/20 is Sh14.9 billion comprising Sh7.8 billion recurrent expenditure and Sh7 billion for development.

Budget and Appropriations Committee chairman Willis Opuka said the Executive revised the budget upwards due to an increase in local revenue of Sh937 million, an increase in the recurrent expenditure by Sh469.1 million and the development expenditure of Sh269.2 million.

“The revised budget has increased local revenue by Sh937 million and reduced the exchequer balance brought forward by Sh1 billion in the financial year 2018/19. The deficit has been reduced from Sh1.6 billion to Sh520 million,” said Mr Opuka.

Conditional grants

The Marama South ward rep said the county also generated a total Sh37.5 million from micro-finance services, Sh626.6 million from conditional grants and another Sh40 million from the Kenya Urban Support Programme.

“Grants for Universal Healthcare amounting to Sh29.781 million, Level Five hospital grant of Sh104.68 million, Kenya Urban Support Programme's Sh389.12 million and Road maintenance levy of Sh60.20 million for the year 2019/20 was also brought forward to the current financial year,” said Opuka.

In the supplementary budget, a total Sh30 million has been taken from the Transport docket and moved to the department of Water to protect springs, with each ward being allocated Sh500,000.

Development expenditure in the Agriculture department was increased from Sh618.7 million to Sh640.9 million. The money will be used to purchase county farm inputs like quality fertilizer and seeds.

Of the Sh640.9 million, the county will spend Sh50 million on promoting dairy farming by establishing Shibinga and Malava smart dairy farms in addition to existing ones in Lugari, Matungu and Lurambi sub-counties.

In the Education sector, the committee recommended that Sh52 million that had been allocated to purchase furniture for Early Childhood Development Education centres be reallocated to construction of the centres.