Nyeri County will spend 70 percent of the 2022/2023 financial year budget to pay salaries and finance operations and maintenance.
The approved County Fiscal Strategy Paper, 2022, shows that the recurrent expenditure ceiling was set at Sh5.4 billion of the Sh7.8 billion.
This includes Sh6.2 billion from the equitable share from the national government and Sh603.6 million in conditional and non-conditional loans and grants from donors.
These include the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project (Sh102 million), Danida (Sh9.2 million) and Transforming Health Systems of Universal Care Project (Sh48.7 million).
Others are Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Programme (KCSAP, Sh340.7 million), KCSAP coffee revitalisation (Sh69.6 million), Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme (Sh21.9 million) and Climate Change (Sh11.2 million).
The county also aims to collect Sh1 billion in own-sourced revenue.
Officials have sought to collect Sh1 billion in revenue for the last four years in vain.
“The (Budget and Appropriations Committee) observed that in the previous years the target has not been achieved. However, the Finance CEC maintained that the projected revenue will be enhanced by the Finance Act, 2021, an expanded enforcement team and leverage on automated revenue management system, Nyeripay,” said its chair Gibson Wahinya.
This includes Sh3.9 billion for personal emoluments and Sh1.5 billion for operation and maintenance costs.
In development, the county will spend at least Sh2.3 billion to put up infrastructure and improve services.
The focus will be on completing ongoing capital projects and especially those with a high impact on poverty reduction, equity and employment opportunities.
“In the next financial year, development expenditure will prioritise ongoing projects and roll-over projects which were earmarked to be undertaken in this financial year but may not have started for various reasons,” said Mr Wahinya, Dedan Kimathi ward representative.
The budget will also prioritise projects funded by donors to ensure that enough money is allocated to them while also focusing on post-Covid-19 recovery projects.
“It will also prioritise the county flagship projects which are those that run across multiple wards and departments as well as new projects as suggested by the public during the decision-making forums,” he added.
The health department will receive the lion’s share, having been allocated a Sh2.7 billion ceiling.
Finance and economic planning will receive the second-highest allocation of Sh901.3 million while the county assembly’s ceiling was set at Sh837.3 million
The transport and infrastructure, and agriculture departments will get Sh798.6 million and Sh734.4 million respectively. BY DAILY NATION