Nakuru Governor, Susan Kihika has vowed to sack members of her Cabinet who do not spend 30 per cent of their respective budgets on development.
She said it is a legal requirement that 30 per cent of the annual budget is allocated to development because the development quotient improves livelihoods, enables business and facilitates access to government services.
The Governor said County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) should support their department to achieve a development-recurrent ratio.
Speaking during the Performance Contract Signing ceremony of CECMs and County Officers at the County headquarters on Thursday, Kihika observed that development had a direct bearing on the social and economic welfare of the people.
"The performance contract will very carefully and systematically monitor service delivery and I was very strategic when I reduced the CECMs and Cos contracts to two and a half years instead of five,” she said.
She said lack of performance among members of her cabinet and Chief Officers would translate to automatic non-renewal of their contracts.
“I will not let them frustrate my manifesto, I signed a performance contract with the people of Nakuru, those who do not perform will go home before I do,” said Kihika who maintains that she will have to perform and get a second term.
The Governor who was accompanied by the Speaker of the Nakuru County Assembly, Joel Karuri said the budgetary allocation will not be measured at the point of planning but at the payment level.
“The performance contract also measures the development index and this will ensure the traditional habit of only spending all funds on a recurrent budget is stopped forthwith,” she said.
Kihika said there must be robust attention to the implementation of the programs in the development budget to facilitate business and access to services.
"The recurrent budget is often about the team, travel, and salaries, which are important factors in service delivery, some programs, like the procurement of drugs, are recurrent in nature and must be procured in good time but more attention should be directed to the development funds,” she said.
Governor Kihika said the performance contract will also measure fixed and movable asset management adding that will be keen to ensure that every CECM protects government property among them land, buildings and vehicles that are held in trust for the community.
“Most government land has no title deeds and is not physically secured, in many cases, its very existence is unknown,” she observed.
She said through the performance contract, every CECM is expected to have a program on the mapping of all government assets, processing ownership documents and taking physical custody of those assets.
Kihika put land grabbers on notice saying that she will not allow them to take possession of facilities that are meant for public use.
The Governor said she spent her first year in office focusing on completing projects and interventions that began in the previous administration.
“I also focused attention towards starting new projects as required by the annual development plan 2022-23,” she said.
Kihika it was difficult to revive some of the projects that stalled since 2009 while others had been completed but not equipped.
