Kitui Sh264 million budget to boost health, education

Saturday, June 30, 2012 - 00:00 -- BY MUSEMBI NZENGU
Cllr Musyimi and Mayor
The Municipal council of Kitui finance chairman Mumo Musyimi holding the briefcase containing the 2012/13 Budget estimates on Thursday. He is with the Mayor Alex Mwendwa Munyoki. Photo by Musembi Nzengu

THE County Council of Kitui has unveiled a budgetary estimate of Sh264 million for the fiscal year 2012/2013 up from Sh210 million in the last financial year. Presenting the estimate at the council chambers, finance committee chairman Joseph Mwalyo said the increase in the budgetary allocation is due to steady economic growth. He said the council hopes to raise Sh89 million as ordinary revenue while the rest of the money will come from grants and the Local Authority Transfer Fund.

Mwalyo said the council will spend the biggest share of the 2012/2013 budget allocation on education projects at Sh35 million while Sh8 million will go to general infrastructure development. In the estimates, water projects were allocated Sh5 million while bursaries for needy students will get Sh3.7 million. Improvement of health facilities will take up Sh3 million

However, Mwalyo said rent and rate defaulters and other debtors owe the council a Sh100 million. He said the local authority will soon move to court to recover the funds. Speaking after the presentation of the budget, council vice chairman Dennis Kiluku said contractors who have done shoddy work risk being blacklisted and will not be awarded contracts in future.

At the Municipal Council of Kitui, finance chairman Mumo Musyimi said the council intends to spend Sh120 million in the financial year 2012/2013. Mumo said out of the money, Sh68.5 million will be spend on personnel expenditure, Sh33.6 million on council operations and Sh18 million on maintenance.

He said the council will set aside Sh4 million to clear the debt owed by the Provident Fund, LapTrust, NSSF and salary areas for council workers due to the implementation of the collective bargain agreement with the Local Government Workers Union in 2010. Musyimi said the council is performing well in service delivery. He said in the year 2010/2011 performance contracting ranking, the council was ranked position 25 out of 175 local authorities. "It was position eight among municipalities," he said.