Bomet county facing cash crisis says Governor Ruto

A cash crisis has hit Bomet County following delays by the National Treasury to release September allocation.

Governor Isaac Ruto yesterday said that the county has not been able to pay its staff last month's salaries due to lack of funds.

"My staff are going without last month salaries not because they are on strike but because the national Treasury has held onto funds that are supposed to use in paying them," Ruto said.

County employees with loan facilities in various financial institutions are grappling with spiraling interest rates due delays in payment of salaries.

Some of them the Standard has learnt have been slapped with huge penalties for defaulting in servicing their loans.

Others have reportedly been kicked out of their rental houses and children chased from school for failing to pay school fees due to the delays in receiving their salaries.

Ruto in a statement to press, he said the delays had put the county in an awkward situation saying besides the salaries suppliers are also waiting for payment.

He warned that service would soon come to a grinding halt if nothing is done to ensure that money is release consistently every month.

"We are in an awkward situation with our staff yet to receive their salaries and suppliers yet to receive their money, " Governor Ruto said.

The former chairman of the Council of Governor said the delay was a letdown saying the county cannot plan anything without funds.

Ruto express concerns with the impending El Nino rains said with the delay in releasing funds any emergencies cannot be handled.

"We cannot plan anything without funds, even as we anticipate the El Nino rains that come with a lot of destruction and outbreaks of diseases  we cannot deal with them without money at hand," he said.

The pronouncement by the governor comes in the hot heels of the Council of Governors calls on senate to intervene on frequent delays in release of funds by the National Treasury.

Council of Governors Chair and Meru Governor Peter Munya has written to the senate speaker Ekwe Ethuro requesting their intervention warning of a looming crisis in operation and service delivery.

Munya   said there have been delays since July that has seen the service delivery affected.

The Meru Governor said upto Sh50 billion was yet to be released by the national treasury to counties.

At the same time Bomet County government has no specific fund to battle the impending El Nino rains, Governor Isaac Ruto has said.

Ruto said his government has been compelled to marshal resources from various departments to enable it tackle any disasters that will arise from the rains.

Ruto said:"We do not have a specific fund  or amount set aside for any disaster that will be occur during the rain but the various department will surrender part of their budgetary allocation."

Ruto blamed failure by the National government to allocate disaster management funds to the 47 counties during the budget-making process.

Besides the decision not to allocate counties disaster management fund, Ruto said delays in releasing of September money to the county has seen them grapple with the challenge of tackling emergencies.

"It is sad that despite that we are approaching the mid of October we have not received September allocation from the National treasury and therefore we cannot handle any emergencies including El Nino if it was to start now and the government should move with speed in ensuring we get the money now," he added.

He said the county anticipates an outbreak of diseases during the rains and destruction of infrastructure and there was no money to buy medicine due to delay in releasing funds

He said the roads department had dispatch teams to ensure that roads that may be affected by the rains are patched so that locals can continue accessing markets and health facilitates during the rainy season.

The governor said  murraming of roads in areas that are deplorable has began so as to enable farmers access markets and the local community to access health care institutions.

He said five graders, similar number of excavators and two bulldozers have been deployed for the purpose.

He at the same time said he had liaised with the Kenya urban Roads Authority to ensure that drainage at the central business district in Bomet town are opened and potholes sealed.

He added that his government had also liaised  with the Kenya National Highway Authority to ensure that potholes along Mulot-Kaplong highway and Silibwet-litein roads were also sealed to minimize cases of road accidents during the rains.