​Siaya budget has misplaced priorities, MCA says

The Siaya county budget has misplaced priorities and will not realise meaningful development if not amended, West Gem MCA Susan Okwiri has said. 

Okwiri said the executive should not consider national projects as opposed to county projects they were formed to implement.

"Why is the county allocating a giant share to a national road that is already under construction with national government funding if that is not a misplaced priority?" she said.

Okwiri said ward development funds have been slashed from Sh30 million to Sh10 million that can not achieve the completion of initial projects, let alone new ones.

Okwiri reminded the executive that projects in the wards should be given priority for equitable distribution of ​​resources at the grassroots.

"The purpose of devolution was to spread development at the grassroots and if the budget will not favour the smallest unit of the county government then that will be a disservice to residents," Okwiri said.

Addressing journalists in Gem on Saturday during the last day of the budget public participation process, Okwiri asked the assembly to consider amending the Siaya budget proposal before approval.

She also took issue with the budget proposal for not being clear on some projects without specifications.

"We can't have some projects highlighted as having heavy funding instead of being specific," Okwiri said.

She said such are ghost projects that are used to milk the county coffers.

A previous meeting to discuss Siaya's next budget degenerated into chaos as members of the public disrupted the meeting.

Frustrated residents complained that their interests were not factored in the budget.  Most people asked why the money meant for ward development was slashed from Sh30 million to Sh10 million.

Moses Apudo said all the stalled projects must be completed before new ones are proposed.

“There is no way new projects could be proposed in our ward yet none of those that we prioritised in the last financial year have been implemented,” he said.

Their concerns were echoed by MCA Ambrose Akuno who vowed to oppose the proposed budget in the assembly.

They issued a memorandum to the county assembly’s budget committee for consideration.

The disruption was however condemned by members of the budget committee Lorna Adida (North Sakwa) and Samwel Olasi (West Uyoma).

“Instead of interrupting the whole exercise, the residents should have found a better way of airing their grievances,” Olasi said.

The budget committee revealed they had also identified inequalities and gaps in the document.