Counties set to receive extra billions amid concerns
Counties are set to receive more billions of shillings in the financial year starting next month amid transparency, public participation and integrity concerns.
The devolved units are set to get Sh372.7 billion in the 2018/2019 financial year, meaning that governors will receive Sh46 billion more compared to the previous financial year.
If well spent, the funds are expected to create socio-economic impact in the counties.
A myriad of challenges ranging from political feuds among county leaders, low revenue collection and wrong priorities have seen some governors spend billions of shillings in projects that don’t benefit their electorate.
The devolved units still grapple with heavy recurrent expenditures, with some running on bloated staff budgets.
WAGE BILL
On Monday, the Council of Governors Chairman Josephat Nanok said counties still experience setbacks associated with huge wage bills that take the lion’s share of the allocations they are given by the national government, and most of what they collect as revenues.
On Monday, the Council of Governors Chairman Josephat Nanok said counties still experience setbacks associated with huge wage bills that take the lion’s share of the allocations they are given by the national government, and most of what they collect as revenues.
“We can categorically say county governments have continued to prioritise service delivery even though we still experience challenges with high wage bill.
"The aggregate budget estimates for the 47 county governments in the 2017/18 financial year amounted to Sh399.73 billion,” he said.
“The budget comprised Sh258.1 billion (64.6 per cent) allocation for recurrent expenditure and Sh141.63 billion (35.4 per cent) for development expenditure,” Mr Nanok added.
DEVELOPMENT
Counties are required to set aside at least 30 per cent of their budgets for development programmes.
Counties are required to set aside at least 30 per cent of their budgets for development programmes.
At Sh15.7 billion, Nairobi will get the lion’s share of the allocations, according to the County Allocation Revenue Bill 2018.
Kilifi has dislodged Turkana from the second position. It will receive Sh10.8 billion.
Turkana will get Sh10.7 billion, up from Sh10 billion it got in the last allocation.
The county was ranked poorest by the latest Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Integrated Household Budget survey released in March.
REVENUE SHARING
The county had 79.4 per cent of its population classified as poor in the 2015/2016 financial year, according to the survey, which classified households with overall consumption expenditure below Sh3,252 and Sh5,995 in rural and urban areas respectively as overall poor.
The county had 79.4 per cent of its population classified as poor in the 2015/2016 financial year, according to the survey, which classified households with overall consumption expenditure below Sh3,252 and Sh5,995 in rural and urban areas respectively as overall poor.
Mandera, which ranked the second poorest county, will receive Sh10.1 billion.
Lamu, which will get Sh3.5 billion, is the least funded county followed by Tharaka-Nithi (Sh3.6 billion), Elgeyo-Marakwet (Sh3.8 billion) and Isiolo (Sh3.9 billion).
Even as the counties get a larger share of funding, the public remains largely withdrawn from the decision on how the funds will be spent, with the counties withholding budget details from public scrutiny against the law.
TRANSPARENCY
A report released by the US-based International Budget Partnership (IBP) in March showed that most counties are revealing very little or no details about their budgets hence locking out public participation.
A report released by the US-based International Budget Partnership (IBP) in March showed that most counties are revealing very little or no details about their budgets hence locking out public participation.
“Only six out of the 47 counties published their enacted budgets. While this is an improvement from only two documents that we found in our 2017 review, it is only 13 per cent of what is expected,” IBP wrote in the report.
“Unless this trend changes, citizens will not be able to effectively and meaningfully participate in the budget process as they are intended to do under the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act,” the report reads.
Counties are required to make citizens’ budgets, annual development plans, county fiscal strategy papers, quarterly implementation reports, and budget estimates available during the budget formulation stage.
AGRICULTURE
Approved estimates, budget review and outlook papers, and the first and second quarterly budget implementation reports are supposed to be made available.
Approved estimates, budget review and outlook papers, and the first and second quarterly budget implementation reports are supposed to be made available.
Among the key projects the counties are expected to take up include agriculture to ensure food security.
With more funds, the counties are expected to focus on mechanised farming, irrigation projects, support for farmers in crop management and improve storage to curb post-harvest losses.
Governors have also pledged to provide low-cost housing to residents.
In the five-year project, each county will develop at least 2,000 units per financial year beginning 2018/19.
The devolved units last month promised to carry out a demand analysis to guide the initiative, which forms a key pillar of President Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda.
HOUSING
The devolved units will collaborate with the national government in the venture set to address housing deficiencies created by expensive mortgages and high interest rates on loans.
The devolved units will collaborate with the national government in the venture set to address housing deficiencies created by expensive mortgages and high interest rates on loans.
According to Mr Nanok, the counties are also struggling to improve their revenue collections, which have been performing below expectations; saddling the exchequer with heavy financial support demands.
Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo’s latest report shows that the 47 counties collected only Sh4.82 billion in the period between July and September 2017, a paltry 8.6 per cent of the annual target.
EXPENDITURE
The first quarter report of 2017/18 also shows that counties’ collections declined by 47.1 per cent compared to the Sh7.09 billion generated in a similar period of the last financial year.
The half year report by the Controller of Budget on the counties budget implementation for the 2017/18 financial year shows that on aggregate, they reported a reduction in expenditure on MCAs sitting allowances by 67 per cent from Sh1.29 billion in a similar period of 2016/17 to Sh422.06 million.
“We also reduced travel expenditure by 28.4 per cent from Sh5.28 billion in a similar period of 2016/17 to Sh3.77 billion.
"This feedback shows that county governments are trying to cut on their recurrent expenditures to focus on development,” Mr Nanok said.
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