Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka has urged ward representatives to use their watchdog teams to ensure prudent use of funds sent to counties.
Lusaka said the Senate has fought hard for the allocation of additional resources to the counties, but oversight must also be strengthened.
“Having strong public accounts teams is the only way that the county administrations will attain and promote prudent use of resources allocated to them by the national government,” he said.
The Speaker said he was happy that the stalemate on revenue sharing formula has been unlocked. He spoke during a funeral in Cheptais, Mt Elgon constituency.
On Thursday, the Senate finally adopted the third basis of county revenue sharing— bringing to an end one of the most protracted legislative processes in the history of Parliament.
“The lack of strong functional audit committees in some counties is among the reasons there is widespread cases of misappropriation of funds and corruption in the devolved units,” Lusaka said.
In the formula adopted by the house, the 12-member team co-chaired by Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula and his Nairobi counterpart Johnson Sakaja ensured that no county lost funding.
Each county will, in this financial year, receive the exact amount it received in the last fiscal year. The national government will disburse an additional Sh50 billion in the next fiscal year.
Consequently, Nairobi will gain the highest share with Sh3.3 billion, Nakuru Sh2.5 billion, Kiambu (Sh2.2 billion), Turkana (Sh2 billion) and Bungoma (Sh1.7 billion).
Senator Wetang’ula who was present at the funeral of Joyce Boiyo said the Senate will continue to champion for the welfare of the counties.
“The money we are fighting for at the Senate for the counties should be put into proper use. When the funds come to the county, MCAs and members of the public should be vigilant and ensure the funds are put into the intended use,” Wetang’ula said.
He added, “As a senator, I will not just sit down and watch as funds are misappropriated or people from marginalised communities are sidelined when it comes to development.”
Bungoma Woman Rep Catherine Wambilianga and several MCAs were present.
