By RENSON BULUMA

Leaders in Busia County have rejected proposals by the Commission for Revenue Allocation arguing the criteria used did not reflect the true position of the County.

Led by Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba and Amagoro MP Sospeter Ojaamong, the leaders said the proposal would deny the county its fair share of allocations.

They said the commission used data from the 2009 census on population and housing from the

Commission on Revenue Allocation Chairman Micah Cheserem. [PHOTO:FILE/STANDARD]

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Kenya National Bureau of Statistics which committed a fundamental error by placing Amagoro Constituency in Bungoma County leaving Busia County with only four constituencies; Nambale, Funyula, Butula and Budalangi.

"The census report put Busia County in the category of the semi arid and arid areas which have small population yet we are supposed to be ranked among the fairly populated,f said Namwamba.

He added: "I believe this is a manifestly unfair robbing of people of Busia. It is shocking in this information technology era, the government could still come up with this errors in compilation and tabulation of figures. We demand for what is just, what is fair for our people".

Ojaamong said the error if allowed to stand will affect development projects in the county adding that many projects will stall for lack of funding.

Patron of Bukhayo Cultural and Sports festival Humphrey Nakitare said people of Busia will resist any attempt to move Amagoro to Bungoma.

"We all know that Amagoro is and has always been part of Busia County and those saying itfs in Bungoma will not be entertained,f said Nakitare.

Former Attorney General Amos Wako also expressed his disappointment at the proposal saying the commission transferred some Busia County resources to Bungoma thus denying the locals the much needed revenue.

According to the commission, each county will be allocated revenue based on five parameters: These include county population (60 per cent), equal share component (20 per cent), poverty levels (12 per cent), land area (six per cent), and fiscal discipline (two per cent).

Governmentfs statistics classified Amagoro constituency which has a population of over 256, 000 as part of Bungoma county making Busia fall among the counties with small populations.

The MPs said they would move a motion in Parliament to oppose the proposal which they claimed were founded without consultations.

"We will seek an explanation from the Planning ministry as to why the census results were not rectified even after errors was detected," said Namwamba

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