• NMS director-general Mohammed Badi had expressed reservations on service delivery due to lack of funds to run the core functions transferred to the national government.
• The National Treasury had in April allocated the NMS Sh3.8 billion to kick-start operations, with Sh2.2 billion set aside for salaries and operations.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Services has been allocated Sh3.5 billion in the new Supplementary Appropriation Bill.
Some Sh2.25 billion will be for recurrent and Sh1.25 billion for development expenditures.
The allocation was made after a meeting on Friday between the executive and NMS representatives after the former's push and pull with the county assembly.
The executive will submit the bill to the assembly either today (Monday) or tomorrow.
NMS director-general Mohammed Badi had expressed reservations on service delivery due to lack of funds to run the four core functions transferred to the national government.
The National Treasury had in April allocated the NMS Sh3.8 billion to kick-start operations, with Sh2.2 billion set aside for salaries and operations and the rest appropriated for the rollout of development projects.
Last week, Governor Mike Sonko announced that the executive will come up with a new Supplementary Bill to ensure the operationalisation of NMS.
This followed Government Printer's revocation of the publication of the Nairobi City County Supplementary Act, 2020 that had allocated Sh15 billion to NMS. The Government Printer acted on an advisory from the Solicitor General.
The Friday meeting at KICC was attended by county Finance executive Allan Igambi, chief Finance officer Halkano Waqo and county director of Budget James Ngunjiri. The NMS had three representatives.
Waqo said the NMS will go ahead with paid for but incompleted projects since procurement of new projects can take up to 60 days to be approved "yet time is a factor we don't have.”
“We showed NMS our cash flows and projections and they also gave their input and we found that we are on the same page. Their concern was that it was not inclusive but the budget catered for needs depending on the strength on the cash flow,” he said.
According to the executive, the proposed budget will be lower than the revoked one since the assembly had allocated funds to functions not transferred.
“The previous budget never came from the executive and the supplementary procedure is very clear in the Public Finance Management Act that it has to come from the executive,” Waqo said.
Igambi said the meeting was the first with NMS officials.
He commended Matopeni MCA Abdi Guyo for bringing them together. Guyo said it was the wish of the county assembly for the executive and NMS to work cordially.
“Being our first meeting it was a positive gesture for the executive and NMS to discuss an important document. We hadn’t met since the NMS was established in March,” Igambi said.
But all is not smooth-sailing as two camps have emerged over the allocation of supplementary funds.
A section of MCAs fronted by Guyo supports the introduction of a new Supplementary Appropriation Bill while another led by Dandora Three MCA Charles Thuo and minority leadership says there is no need for a new supplementary budget.
Guyo said: “The meeting was fruitful and this indicates that NMS and the executive can work together without any push and pull. As MCAs we shall pass it (bill) to ensure that funds are allocated accordingly to the respective functions.”
The differences between the two camps are associated with Jubilee supremacy war with either side claiming to be the majority in the county assembly.
Thuo had been the majority leader until April when the Jubilee head office reinstated Guyo to the position.
However, Speaker Beatrice Elachi is yet to communicate the changes as the assembly is on recess until next month.
– mwaniki fm