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Counties spend Sh7 billion on Covid intervention

Business
 

Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

County governments spent Sh7 billion on Covid-19 relief measures in the 2020/2021 financial year.

According to the latest report from the Office of the Controller of Budget, the bulk of the funds were used to acquire personal protective equipment (PPEs), ventilators and the construction of isolation wards at county health centres.

The report details funds spent by devolved units to manage the outbreak of the global pandemic within their respective areas.

Mandera, Kitui and Mombasa counties led in allocations towards the pandemic, spending Sh614 million, Sh405 million and Sh319 million respectively.

According to the CoB report, Sh68.5 million of Mombasa County’s budgetary allocation went to allowances for healthcare workers, with Sh79.6 million spent on purchasing emergency foodstuff for vulnerable groups.

Other counties that topped the list were Trans-Nzoia (Sh299 million), Turkana (Sh255 million), Nandi (Sh224 million) and Nyamira (Sh221 million). The counties of Kajiado, Kilifi and Machakos did not report on their Covid-19 spend in the period under review.

The majority of the funds were direct disbursements from the National Government as a share of aid received from bilateral partners such as the World Bank and donor agencies, including Danish aid agency Danida.

Last year, the World Bank approved Sh110 billion budgetary support for Kenya to boost State operations and aid economic recovery efforts.

“Preparation of this Development Policy Financing (DPF) preceded the Covid-19, but its approval is timely since it will help to fill the financing gap generated by the severe, ongoing shock to Kenya’s economy,” stated the World Bank.

“The DPF thus complements the recently approved Kenya Covid-19 emergency response project, which seeks to prevent, detect and respond to the Covid-19 outbreak and strengthen systems for public health emergency preparedness.”

Many counties set aside funds from their own budgets to mitigate the pandemic.

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