Kiambu Governor signs to law Sh600 million Ward Development Fund Bill

Kiambu,

Friday, January 25, 2024

KNA by Grace Naishoo

Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has signed two significant legislations passed by the County Assembly, namely the Kiambu County Appropriation Act, 2024 (Supplementary Budget) and the Kiambu County Revenue Allocation Act, 2024 (Ward Fund).

The Kiambu County Supplementary Appropriation Act, 2024, provides for the additional withdrawal of funds from the Exchequer and reallocations thereof as per priority programs and authorizes the executive to spend up to Sh2.5 billion on projects.

On the other hand, the County Revenue Allocation Act, of 2024, will allocate an initial amount of Sh600 million to the Ward Fund, exclusively designed to assist in cascading development at the grassroots level.

While assenting to the Bills, the Governor said that the County Allocation of Revenue will enhance service delivery and provide an avenue for people-driven development.

“My gratitude to the Members of the County Assembly for passing the legislation that now enables us to fully implement our inaugural budget as an administration,” he said, adding that the two laws would provide a fresh impetus to his development agenda, giving priority to key interventions. 

The Governor said that each MCA would steer the identification of the priority projects in collaboration with the residents. 

“This Law will ensure that the MCA, who will be the custodian of the fund in collaboration with the residents, will identify the specific and unique priority projects within their Ward that will be beneficial,” Wamatangi said.

The county boss further explained that the Ward Fund provides for the equitable sharing of county resources amongst the wards as each ward will be receiving at least Sh10 million every year for projects within it that the residents would have agreed upon through a public participation process.

“With the operationalization of the Ward Fund, the Mwananchi at the grassroots will have a say in prioritizing projects, and this will, undoubtedly, be a game-changer,” the Governor stated.

KNA spoke to Riabai MCA Hezron Gachui who said the allocation was a good start but they expected the bill to be fine-tuned so that every financial year, the allocation is increased to be adequate for all the projects that needed to be done.

“Sh10 million is just 2.8 percent of Kiambu county's budget which is too little to do effective development. It could be better if the allocation of the fund is done every quarter so that every three months, we have a new project in every ward,” he said. 

Courtesy; KNA