Nakuru unveils Sh21b budget, with Sh8b to be spent on salaries
Rift Valley
By
Kennedy Gachuhi
| Jul 11, 2024
The Nakuru County Assembly budget for the 2024/2025 fiscal year will see Sh14 billion out of Sh21 billion dedicated to salaries, perks, and other recurrent expenditures.
This allocation accounts for 66 per cent of the total budget, making it the third-largest in terms of recurrent expenditure among the 47 devolved units.
Only Sh7 billion, representing 33.4 percent of the budget, ="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/rift-valley/article/2001420603/how-nakuru-will-spend-sh232-billion-as-mcas-approve-budget">has been earmarked< for development projects. This allocation includes a Sh1 billion rollover for ongoing projects from the fiscal year ending June 2024.
The county's wage bill is projected to consume Sh8.1 billion, or 39 per cent of the budget, which exceeds the legally required maximum of 35 per cent.
To fund the budget, Nakuru County expects to receive Sh14.1 billion from the national government as an equitable share, along with the Sh1 billion exchequer balance from the previous year.
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Additionally, Governor Susan Kihika's administration aims to collect Sh2.2 billion from local revenue sources, including Sh1.8 billion from hospitals, dispensaries, and health centers under the Facility Improvement Fund.
The county's health department will receive Sh7.8 billion, accounting for 37 per cent of the budget, making it the second-largest beneficiary.
The County Treasury has been allocated Sh2.3 billion (11 per cent), infrastructure Sh1.8 billion (8.7 per cent), and education Sh1.6 billion (8 per cent). Agriculture and the Department of Water, Energy, and Environment each received Sh1.1 billion, while other departments received less than one billion shillings.
="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/counties/article/2001323754/county-presents-sh15b-budget">Out of the Sh7.8 billion< allocated to the health department, Sh4.5 billion will be spent on salaries and remunerations while an additional Sh511.5 million has been set aside for medical drugs. The department will also allocate Sh2.3 billion for operations and maintenance, Sh893 million for development, and Sh207 million for community health promoters.
Specific ongoing projects will also benefit from this budget. Kuresoi North and Rongai hospitals will each receive Sh50 million. The new outpatient department complex at Nakuru Level Five Hospital has been allocated Sh82 million for equipment, while the Mai Mahiu Hospital will receive Sh30 million for its completion.
In response to recent heavy rains that caused major damage,="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/news/article/2001313927/nakuru-mcas-approve-sh163-million-top-up-budget"> the county has allocated Sh1.5 billion < of its Sh1.8 billion infrastructure budget to development projects.
The Agriculture Department, with a budget of Sh1.1 billion, will spend Sh234 million on a fertiliser subsidy programme and Sh30 million on pyrethrum seedlings.
The Education Department has earmarked Sh100 million for initiatives to improve educational outcomes and nutrition for school children. Additionally, it has allocated Sh175 million for bursaries, with each of the 55 wards receiving Sh3 million. Another Sh20 million has been set aside for the governor’s scholarship programme.