City Assembly approves Sh41.2 billion supplementary budget

The Nairobi county assembly has approved a Sh41.2 billion supplementary budget, with development projects taking the lion’s share.

Some Sh13.2 billion or 32 per cent of the budget will go towards long-term projects like construction of roads, health facilities, schools and modern kiosks.

In the 2017-2018 financial year, the assembly approved a budget of Sh35.9 billion, with development projects being allocated Sh11.7 billion.

In the supplementary budget approved on Tuesday, Sh28 billion (68 per cent) went towards payment of wages, salaries and purchase of goods and services, otherwise known as recurrent expenditure.

Sh7.7 billion of the budget will be funded by the national government and will be spent on improving projects and services under the Nairobi Metropolitan.

Previously, development expenditure was limited to 30 per cent of the total budget due to high recurrent expenditure such as wages and salaries, thanks to a bloated workforce.

In the 2017-2018 financial year, for instance, Sh24.1 billion of the Sh35.9 billion budget was spent on salaries, wages and buying goods and services.

In the supplementary budget, Sh350 million was also allocated to the construction and rehabilitation of stadia, a flagship project for Governor Mike Sonko.

Sh32.4 million was allocated for electrification of dispensaries while Sh15 million will be used to build modern kiosks.

Setback

The rehabilitation of Kahawa West Market suffered a setback after the Sh15 million it was initially allocated was knocked off the budget and the project rolled over to the next financial year.

County Assembly Majority Leader Abdi Guyo lauded the budget, saying it would help the county realise its development goals.

“This budget has not only captured and addressed development in crucial areas such as health, transport and finance; it will also ensure the governor accomplishes his service delivery agenda,” said Guyo.

Chairman of the Budget and Appropriation Committee, Robert Mbatia, who tabled the budget, said they had slashed some of the recurrent expenditures in favour of development expenditures.

“We had to slash recurrent expenditures to fund development projects, with most water-related projects at the ward level benefiting the most,” said Mbatia.

He said about Sh1 billion had been slashed from the initially proposed recurrent expenditure and directed towards development projects.

He said the Kahawa West Market was rolled over because of a court case, necessitating the recall of its budget.

The legal department also bore the brunt of the cut after legal fees, arbitration and compensation payment were reduced by Sh33 million.

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