•Finance executive concerned that some flagship projects will not be implemented due to financial constraints.
•Budget short of Sh6.8 billion anticipated by the County Assembly
The lion’s share of Nyandarua county budget for 2019-2020 will go to roads, health, agriculture, trade, industrialisation and cooperatives.
The Sh6.4 billion budget estimate was tabled in the assembly on Tuesday by Finance and Economic Development executive Mary Mugwanja.
The estimates comprise Sh4.867 billion Equitable Share Transfers, Sh700 million own source revenue, Sh30 million Linda Mama and conditional grants.
The Department of Transport, Energy and Public Works has been allocated Sh789,320,298 out of which Sh441,049,781 is for road works. Some Sh220 million will be spent on machines and equipment through asset financing.
The total resources required for asset financing is Sh539 million. The county will buy five excavators worth Sh120 million, five graders for Sh120 million, three lorries for Sh153 million, two drum rollers for Sh14 million, one low loader for Sh17 million, water drilling equipment for Sh70 million and six executive vehicles for Sh45 million.
The health department has been allocated Sh602,464,895. The county projects to complete and equip most of the health facilities including upgrading J.M. Memorial Hospital to Level Five high-density hospital at a cost of Sh70 million. It is one of Governor Francis Kimemia's flagship projects.
Others to be upgraded are Engineer, Ndaragwa, Mirangine, and Manunga hospitals. Ongoing projects include Bamboo, Manunga, Matindiri, Muhakaini, Kieni, Kihuha and Mukeu dispensaries.
Industrialisation, Trade and Cooperatives department will spend Sh305,713,698 of its total allocation of Sh337,612,399 for development. The construction of [potato processing plant now in initial stages of procurement will take Sh80 million as the county contribution and Sh200 million under Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KSDP). The plant also falls under flagship projects category.
Some Sh220,717,862 of the Agriculture department’s total allocation of Sh312,311,166 will be spent on development. The Agriculture Department has benefited from donor funding of Sh117 million Climate Smart for Agriculture projects. A total of Sh54 million of the KDSP will be spent on the rehabilitation of Njabini Agricultural Training College (ATC).
The county aims at digitising agriculture through a partnership with Safaricom’s Digi farm programme, where all farmers can register for e-extension services, market linkages, and access to crop and animal insurances, credit facilities for farm inputs from registered agrovets, and soil testing facilities. Some Sh11 million has been appropriated for the purchase of software and its infrastructure.
Lands, Housing and Physical Planning Department has a total allocation of Sh251,750,000, of which Sh217,652,000 is earmarked for development. County Land Bank and Affordable Housing are identified as flagship projects with an allocation of Sh20 million.
Water, Environment, Tourism and Natural Resources department have a total allocation of Sh266,930,000 of which Sh227,908,000 will be spent on the provision of clean and affordable water to residents.
Under Youth, Sports, and Arts department, Sh50 million out of the total Sh126 million allocation will be spent on the construction of the county stadia - another flagship project. Sh22,791,200 has been allocated to Sports Talent Development, while Sh6 million will be for purchasing specialised equipment for organised youth groups.
Bursary funds enhancement, Ol Kalou multipurpose hall in, prayer centre at Kinyahwe, Kinangop, and Milk Feeding Programme have been identified as flagship projects in the Department of Education, Gender and Culture. These projects have been allocated Sh110 million, Sh10 million, Sh2.5 million, and Sh23 million respectively. The department has a total allocation of Sh190,109,866.
The office of the governor has been allocated Sh127,535,189, while that of the county secretary under which the bulk of the executive functions are domiciled has been allocated Sh2.072 billion.
The Department of Finance and Economic Development is the custodian of the county funds amounting to Sh217 million, pending bills amounting to Sh100 million, and Sh259 million for asset financing. The department has a total allocation of Sh696,053,000.
A total of Sh58,106,920 has been allocated to the department of ICT and Public Administration. Connection of fibre optic is the flagship project with an allocation of Sh10 million.
The county attorney services have been allocated Sh16,783,893 to offer support on legal matters on legal liabilities, compensation, fees, dues and arbitration while the County Public Service Board has been allocated Sh11,338,114.
The Nyandarua County Assembly has been allocated Sh782,899,801 for operations, members' sitting allowances, maintenance and development needs.
The Finance executive is concerned that the implementation of flagship projects will be affected due to inadequate funding. She noted that the Annual Development Plan (ADP) approved by the Assembly was Sh6.8 billion. Its strategic priorities in 2019-2020 were mainly the flagship projects.
The Assembly approved County Fiscal Strategic Paper (CFSP) Financial Year 2019-2020 which was worth Sh6.4 billion.
“As you can note, there is a shortfall of Sh400 million in the CFSP. This means that some of the projects in the ADP will not be implemented due to resource envelop constraints,” she said.