This archive report was first published on 9 June 2020.
On June 9, 2020, the Kakamega County Assembly made a U-turn on its budget reallocations, reverting Sh35 million from shelter improvement programs back to sports as requested by Governor Wycliffe Oparanya. The move was met with opposition from minority leader David Ndakwa, who argued that the funds should assist families displaced by floods to reconstruct their homes.
During a special session, the assembly approved the Sh35 million as salary payment for footballers from the county. Another Sh90 million, which had been shifted from farm inputs subsidies fund, was equally restored as demanded by the governor in a memorandum to the assembly last week.
David Ndakwa expressed his disappointment, saying, “We should not be here if our opinion doesn’t count.”
Earlier, Governor Oparanya had vetoed the reallocation of Sh90 million from the farm input subsidy program vote head and a further Sh35 million from sports program by the assembly. The governor's actions led to the rejection of the budget and appropriation bill, which was then referred back for reconsideration.
Supporting the changes, Budget Committee Chairman Willis Opuka stated that the assembly's veto was an oversight.
However, Bunge La Haki pressure group chairman Boniface Manda termed the assembly as a tool used by Oparanya as a rubber stamp, saying, “They are insisting on paying for fertilizer and other farm inputs because they were supplied by a member of the Oparanya family. This is sad.”
