KAKAMEGA — The Kakamega County Assembly has officially approved budget estimates totaling Sh17.8 billion for the fiscal year 2024/2025, focusing on both recurrent and development expenditures.
According to Kenya News Agency, the new budget allocates Sh11.9 billion for recurrent expenses, representing 66.7% of the total budget, and Sh5.95 billion for development, accounting for the remaining 33.3%. Personnel emoluments will consume Sh6.85 billion of the recurrent expenditure, while operations and maintenance costs are set at approximately Sh5.05 billion.
Significant funding has been designated for key ministries, with the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Public Works, and Energy receiving Sh1.63 billion. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Co-operatives will get Sh845 million, similar to the allocation for the Ministry of Water, Environment, Forestry, and Natural Resources. The budget also includes allocations for the Ministry of Trade, Industrialization and Tourism and the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, which have been earmarked Sh604.7 million and Sh486.5 million, respectively.
The Office of the Governor is set to receive Sh10 million, while the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning will get Sh56 million, and the ICT, E-Government and Communication Ministry has been allocated Sh100 million. Additionally, the County Assembly itself is allocated Sh1.48 billion for salaries and other operational expenses for the year.
The budget report indicates that Kakamega County expects to receive an equitable share of Sh13.4 billion from the National Government, with projections to collect Sh2.2 billion in Own Source Revenue (OSR). It also notes a carry-forward balance of Sh1.09 billion from the previous year’s equitable share, along with conditional grants totaling Sh794 million and an additional Sh303 million from the Kenya Devolution Support Program (KDSP).
Further, the budget outlines conditional grants amounting to Sh1.15 billion, including funds from various programs such as the County Aggregation and Industrial Park Program (CAIPP), Community Health Promoters Program (CHPP), Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF), and support from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) for Primary Health Care, among others.
Gildon Shioso, Chairman of the Committee on Budget and Appropriations and Member of County Assembly for Butsotso South, emphasized the importance of prioritizing the settlement of pending bills to adhere to the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act during the motion to support the budget estimates.