The Office of the Controller of Budget has turned down the application by Kisii County Governor Simba Arati to expend as a bursary a portion of funds from the development budget.
The refusal subsequently put in limbo the dreams of the thousands of students who turned up at the Ward centres to apply for financial aid.
The Governor had initially allocated Sh 3 million for each of the 42 Wards as a bursary in the miscellaneous budget application at the Assembly.
At least 50,000 students who applied stand to lose following the caveat.
The Office of the Controller of Budget faulted Arati for making the bursary application in the development expenditure as opposed to recurrent expenditure.
"We draw your attention to the section of the Public Finance Management Act 2012 which defines Development Expenditure to mean the expenditure for the creation of renewal of assets.
"Further we draw to the County budget operational manual by the National Treasury which defines development expenditure as expenditure for the creation of renewal of assets and further categorizes development expenditure as durable assets needed to support service delivery," said the statement signed by Mackline Ogolla for the Controller of Budget.
Ogolla further said:
"Given the above definition, it is our advice that bursary funds do not fall within the definition provided and categorized as a development vote "
The caveat quickly sparked an emergency at the County Assembly meeting in which the County Finance Executive got a dress down for 'misadvising the County administration'.
