Nyandarua approves Sh7.6bn extra budget for key projects

The Nyandarua County assembly has approved a Sh7.6 billion supplementary budget, paving way for the implementation of critical development projects.

Among them are potato revitalisation (Sh382million) and a vegetable processing factory funded by the World Bank under the Kenya Devolution Support Programme (Sh282million).

BREAKDOWN

The county government, headed by Governor Francis Kimemia, was allocated Sh100 million.

Finance executive Mary Mugwanja noted that in the supplementary budget, the share for development increased from 34 per cent in the last fiscal year to 42 percent.

The first supplementary budget also included Sh32 million for the Fuel Levy Maintenance Fund and increased the European Union grant for the potato tissue culture project from Sh45 million to Sh79 million.

An amount of Sh800 million was assigned to pending bills

Other critical components in the budget were the World Bank grant for climate-smart agriculture (Sh117 million) and an allocation of Sh20 million for the introduction of the County Trade Fund targeting new and upcoming small-scale traders.

HEADQUARTERS

The project for the construction of the Nyandarua headquarters, that is jointly funded by the national and county governments, was allocated Sh121 million.

During debate in a special sitting on Friday, members of county assembly demanded that project work begin immediately and that contractors and suppliers be paid on time.

“We have about four months left before the financial year ends so the executive must move fast to implement projects, especially those on infrastructure, before the onset of the long rains in March,” budget committee chairperson Kiiru Gachomba said during the meeting convened by speaker Wahome Ndegwa.

The finance executive assured the ward representatives that the money will be put to good use and that none will returned to the National Treasury.