New tool to help track budget use by counties

A new system to enable the public to monitor the performance of county governments has been launched.

It has set several benchmarks to check how the county budgets are implemented and the quality of service delivery as well as weaknesses.

It focuses on six devolved areas - budget transparency in terms of citizen participation, revenue streams and trade regulation, health focusing on ambulances and maternal care, education, especially early childhood development and polytechnics, agriculture and transport.

Speaking during the launch yesterday, the chief executive of the Commission for the Allocation of Revenue (CRA), Mr George Ooko, said it would make it possible for citizens to check service delivery at the regional level and identify weaknesses.

“This tool provides the first rating platform on service delivery versus the amount of money allocated to the specific sectors. Such tools are important to ensure that revenue is utilised in the best interest of the citizens and counties are able to gauge the impact of their allocations,” Mr Ooko said.

The benchmarks were jointly developed by the National Taxpayers Association (NTA), Institute of Economic Affairs and other partners. It has been tested in Nyeri and found to be effective.

NTA national co-ordinator Martin Napisa said: “The Nyeri County government is very keen to see the results of the pilot assessment. They want to work with the findings to improve areas where the public felt service delivery was not good.”

“This tool measures what is allocated to each sector and the public perception of the service delivery. It helps the citizens to know if they are getting value for money and the county governments to know if the allocation to a sector is adequate or is being wasted,” he said.

The rating tool was launched alongside the Citizens Alternative Budget developed by the Institute of Economic Affairs.