Kiambu Public Participate in Medium-Term Budget Planning Forum

Kiambu,

 Thursday, November 2, 

KNA by Cedric Karungaru

Residents of Kiambu County and relevant stakeholders from government Ministries held a public participation event organized by the National Treasury at the Kiambu National Polytechnic to plan for the medium-term budget plans for the next three years.

The process is being conducted in every county through the government's bottom-up economic agenda.

Speaking at the event, Foreign and diaspora affairs PS Roseline Njogu commended the National Treasury's efforts in organizing the participation event noting that including the public in the planning process is essential to understanding methods of solving development problems within the counties and allocating adequate funds while making the budget.

“We hope to uphold the values of good governance, integrity accountability, and sustainable development during the participation process and therefore we hope the outcome of the forum fosters a sense of ownership among our citizens who are at the heart of the decision-making deliberations,” she said.

Njogu emphasized the importance stakeholders play in identifying their own social and developmental challenges within the counties as opposed to the past where the budget-making process has only been at the national level. 

The grassroots approach allows for homegrown solutions to these problems through the proper allocation of funds to the identified sectors that have been underserved in the past.

“Having stakeholders who are relevant on the sectors that need to be addressed during the budget-making process is important so that the resources are adequately disbursed and no wastage occurs because of many actors, public participation makes the process precise,” she added. 

She continued by assuring the members of the public that the government will be keen to champion accountability to the decision-makers in the process by ensuring that their actions are aligned with the desires of the people in line with the governance structure.

Kiambu County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha emphasized that the role of all representatives from Kiambu was key to the development of the county.

“When we talk of the national cake this is where it begins, Kiambu is a very strategic county with the country development agenda, there has been massive progress that has been made over the years and this is another step being taken for us to take control of how we improve our people's living condition,” he said.

The public participation process is part of the government's approach to achieving the bottom-up economic transformation agenda through inclusivity, hence enabling citizens to understand the budget-making process and facilitate communication and feedback.

Courtesy; KNA