Western counties spend little on projects, says report

Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya (left) and his Kisumu counterpart Anyang’ Nyong’o (right) in Kisumu last month after attending a church service. The two counties spent less on development. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A report by the Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo revealed that Kisumu County, as others in Nyanza and western, increased its recurrent expenditure.
  • Ms Odhiambo recommended that an internal audit committee be established in Kisumu to monitor implementation of its budget.
  • In Vihiga, concerns are rife that much of the development allocation was not spent, a move that could have denied residents the much needed projects.

Kisumu County failed to spend the funds it had allocated for development during the first nine months of 2017/18 financial year as the appetite for domestic and foreign travels increased.

A report by the Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo revealed that the county, as others in Nyanza and western, increased its recurrent expenditure.

All the 10 counties allocated less funds on development and more money on recurrent expenditure.

The other nine, Vihiga, Kakamega, Busia, Bungoma, Siaya, Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii and Nyamira, spent less than Sh1 billion on development during the 2017/18 fiscal year.

Kisumu had allocated Sh3 billion on development activities. “No expenditure was incurred on development,” Ms Odhiambo said in her report that also showed that Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o-led administration spent Sh3.9 billion on recurrent activities.

SH9.7 BILLION BUDGET

The revelation by Ms Odhiambo could be a pointer that the administration may not have fully implemented its Sh9.7 billion budget, leaving intended development projects unattended.

Further, Ms Odhiambo pointed out that the county’s appetite for domestic travel increased by 20.1 per cent from Sh140 million to Sh168.1 million.

This was also witnessed in the other nine counties, with most of them shelving foreign travel and preferring domestic travelling.

It is only Bungoma County that was cited to have spent public funds on foreign travelling in addition to domestic travels during the year that came after a hotly contested general election.

Ms Odhiambo recommended that an internal audit committee be established in Kisumu to monitor implementation of its budget.

“The county (Kisumu) should reduce expenditure on non-essential items to fund development projects,” said Ms Odhiambo.

Recently, Prof Nyong’o defended his pace of working on the promises he made a year after taking office. He admitted he had met bumps along the way, delaying the achievement on goals he had set.

UNIMPLEMENTED PROJECTS

Some of the unimplemented projects include relocation of Kachok dumpsite, which he had planned to complete 100 days in office.

Vihiga County, similarly, spent Sh119.3 million on domestic travelling and another Sh26.1 million on committee sitting allowances, an increase of Sh7.9 million, for the 38 MCAs.

In Vihiga, concerns are rife that much of the development allocation was not spent, a move that could have denied residents the much needed projects.

The report shows only Sh62.4 million against a budget of Sh1.9 billion was spent on development by the county government.

Recently, Senator George Khaniri told a public gathering in the county that Sh1.3 billion development funds were returned to the National Treasury after the expiry of the financial year, claims Dr Wilbur Ottichilo, the governor, disputed.

RELEASE FUNDS

“County funds are budgeted for. No money goes back to the treasury at the end of the year. Any unspent money is rolled over into the new year,” the county boss explained as he blamed National Treasury over delayed release of funds.

Ms Odhiambo acknowledged this in her report and said: “The county treasury should liaise with the National Treasury to ensure that funds allocated are released in a timely manner.”

Busia County spent Sh18.7 million to pay sitting allowance of 61 MCAs. The border county had budgeted Sh122.8 million for the purpose.

Governor Sospeter Ojamong’s administration spent Sh103.2 million on domestic travel, a decrease from Sh145.9 million spent in 2016/17.

While the other nine counties failed to meet their revenue targets, Busia was the only one that hit its target of Sh119.5 million. The county, however, spent only Sh339.2 million of the Sh2.4 billion that was budgeted for development activities.

HIGH WAGE BILL

Kakamega County, on the other hand, is fighting with a high wage bill. Of the budgeted Sh5.6 billion development expenditure, Governor Wycliffe Oparanya’s administration only spent Sh1.4 billion on development activities.

“A high wage bill that increased by 31 per cent from Sh2.8 billion to Sh4 billion continue to hamper budget implementation,” said Odhiambo.

Bungoma under Governor Wycliffe Wangamati was not different from her neighbours as it struggled to meet its financial obligations.

While expecting to collect Sh865.6 million in local revenue, it only managed Sh273.8 million, leading to a financial gap in its budgeting process.