Lobby seeks to halt ward projects in Homa Bay for lack of laws
The Homa Bay County government has been petitioned to suspend implementation of development projects in the wards to allow for the enactment of regulations to guide the spending of the Sh21.5 million allocated to each of the 40 wards.
Members of the Interface Community Help Desk said they were opposed to plans by the county government to start implementation of the projects before the County Ward Development Fund Act is enacted.
They said they were preparing to challenge the use of the Sh860 million due to lack of legal checks and balances.
Mr Evance Oloo and Mr Micheal Kojo, who are officials of the group, have written to Finance executive Solomon Obiero, raising concerns over the legislative gap.
Mr Oloo said it is up to the county government to ensure the regulations are enacted as provided for in the Public Finance Management Act and as per the guidance of the Office of the Controller of Budget (CoB).
In November last year, the county assembly approved a supplementary budget that allocated cash to the ward fund.
The ward fund projects are in various sectors including transport, agriculture, education, water, energy, health and trade.
“The development projects cited can only be realised if carried out in a planning document such as the Annual Development Plan (ADP) as per Section 126 of the Public Finance Management Act as read in line with section 104 (1) of the County Government Act 2012,” reads part of the letter by the organisation.
In the letter, Mr Oloo told the MCAs, County Assembly Clerk Faith Apuko and the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, he asked the devolved unit to consider establishing a Ward Development Fund by presenting a Bill to the county assembly for debate and approval.
The CoB wrote to governors, county assembly speakers and clerks in 2014 providing the guidelines for the operationalisation of the ward development funds.
The CoB said proposals for establishment of the funds should be forwarded to county Finance executives for onward transmission to the assemblies for debate and approval.
The executives are also required to put the projects in the planning documents for a particular financial year.
Mr Kojo said none of the guidelines had been followed by officials of the county administration and plans to use public funds for the projects was therefore against the law. BY DAILY NATION
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