End of Nyeri budget stalemate as Governor Nderitu Gachagua assents to finance Bill

Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua has assented to the Sh6.4 billion county budget, ending anxiety that the budget stalemate between MCAs and the executive would extend and cripple development.

Confirming that the governor had signed to the Appropriation Bill, Finance Executive Charles Githinji said it has been sent to the Government Printer for publishing.

The executive is under pressure to speed up the implementation of the budget, with less than six months to the end of the year.

Dr Githinji said that the procurement process has started with the national Treasury expected to activate the county’s Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis).

“Most of the projects we want to implement have their bill of quantities [already] prepared.

"We are also in the processes of uploading the budget in the Ifmis,” he said Monday in an interview.

CONTRACTORS TO BE PAID

Dr Githinji further noted that contractors who had withdrawn their services due to accrued debts will be paid once he prepares and tables a supplementary budget.

The Sh600 million which remained in the account at the close of the last financial year will be used to settle the debts.

The contractors stormed the assembly last month over unpaid debts complaining that their businesses are collapsing.

Dr Githinji assured residents that the stalemate that had stalled the budget will not affect service delivery.

MCAs have also put pressure on the executive to speed up the implementation of the budget to compensate on lost time.

Majority Leader Duncuan Gituanja noted that residents are concerned, not with the rift between the assembly and the executive, but with development and service delivery.

The stalemate ended when the MCAs passed an adjusted budget after the county boss refused to assent to a budget they had passed on June 30, 2016.