Kiambu County has managed to raised Sh517 million in own-source revenue during the first quarter for the financial year 2023-2024.

This is Sh261 million more compared to the previous fiscal year of 2022-2023 in which the devolved unit raised Sh301 million.

According to the County Government Budget Implementation Review Report from the Controller of Budget, Kiambu County has so far generated in this financial year a total of Sh830.53 million from its Own Source Revenue (OSR) which includes Facility Improvement Fund (FIF) and Appropriations in Aid (AIA).

The CoB report shows that revenue streams which contributed the OSR came from liquor licenses, Sh62.23 million, Public Health Services, Sh30.43 million, Public Health Operations, Sh313.12 million, Technical Service Fee Sh170.12 million, Vehicle Parking Fee Sh79.31 million and other sources at Sh175.32 million.

‘The highest revenue stream was Sh313.12 million the public health facilities, contributing to 38 percent of the total OSR receipts during the report
ing period,’ Dr Nyakang’o said in the report.

The total funds available for budget implementation for Kiambu County during the period thus amount to Sh4.43 billion.

At the same time, the report further says at the beginning of FY 2023-2024, the County reported a stock of pending bills amounting to Sh5.79 billion, comprising Sh3.48 billion for recurrent expenditure and Sh2.31 billion for development activities.

The pending bills in the first quarter amounting to Sh168.74 million were settled, consisting of Sh94.64 million for recurrent expenditure and Sh74.10 million for development programmes. As of 30 September 2023, the outstanding amount was Sh5.62 billion.

Additionally, the Controller of Budget in the report mentioned some of the challenges that hampered the implementation of the Budget namely underperformance, high level of pending bills, use of manual payroll and failure to budget cash balance brought forward.

‘The county has some challenges like the underperformance of own-source revenue at Sh830.
53 million against an annual projection of Sh7.98 billion, representing 10.4 percent of the annual target,’ she said in the report.

The Controller of Budget further stated that the County failed to budget for the cash balance brought forward from FY 2022/23 of Sh2.55 billion in the approved estimates for FY 2023/2024.

As for the manual payroll, Dr Nyakang’o explained that this is prone to abuse and may lead to the loss of public funds where there is a lack of proper controls.

She urged Kiambu County to address its own source revenue performance to ensure the approved budget is fully financed.

‘Let the county leadership address the pending bills situation to ensure genuine bills are paid promptly in the remaining financial year,’ she said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Office of the Swakopmund Mayor has proposed the introduction of buses as a mode of public transportation around Swakopmund to tackle criminal activities.

The arrangement, documented in a council agenda as proposed by the mayor’s office at a council meeting in January 2024, will be conducted in partnership with a security firm to increase the visibility of security personnel.

According to the document, Swakopmund has been experiencing various safety and security issues over the years, including shoplifting, armed robberies, and housebreaking.

‘In light of this, the council introduced the Swakopmund Safety Forum, where various key stakeholders host monthly meetings to discuss ways to combat the increase in criminal activities within the town of Swakopmund. Nonetheless, a lot of effort has been made in terms of safety and security within the town of Swakopmund,’ the document noted.

It further added that there is still room for improvement as safety and security are crucial to society, and it is the respo
nsibility of the council to ensure the total well-being of the inhabitants.

The Mayor’s Office recommended the establishment and provision of public transportation for the public focus on assisting learners, the elderly, and domestic workers, who may be vulnerable and unable to afford the normal taxi fare. This, according to the agenda, could reduce the current daily N.dollars 26 and a possible monthly N.dollars 600 per individual.

‘The identified target group do not earn or only earn a bare minimum on a monthly basis and are thus unable to afford the current taxi fares. As a result, it has been noted that some learners and some of the domestic workers walk to their place of destination during the early hours while it is dark, and this poses a security risk.’

In an interview with Nampa, Frieda Elago, who is employed as a domestic worker in the town’s Ocean View residential area, said should the plans come to fruition, it would really be life-changing for her and many others.

‘We live in constant fear for
our lives because we sometimes have to walk from Ocean View to DRC Informal Settlement, where we live because we cannot afford daily taxi fare,’ she said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency