This archive report was first published on 11 June 2020.
On June 3, 2020, the Kwale County Assembly dealt Governor Salim Mvurya a blow by rejecting a Sh160 million allocation for Covid-19 relief food. The assembly instead redirected the funds to health, sparing the county executive a paltry Sh5 million for the food vote.
According to Governor Mvurya, the supplementary budget was sent to the assembly on April 16, but was passed on June 3 when the financial year was about to come to an end.
Speaker Sammy Ruwa, who has been at loggerheads with the governor, insisted the supplementary budget was brought to the assembly 'wrongly' and the funds could have been misused. He said hunger should not be treated as an emergency and that the county's most pressing need is preparedness to fight Covid-19.
“Hunger should be treated as a programme instead of introducing an emergency fund. Hunger is not an emergency. We feel what we did as a county assembly was right for the people,” Ruwa said.
However, Governor Mvurya said it was clear the MCAs had sabotaged his plan to offer relief to residents and hence there will be no food assistance as a result of their insensitivity by passing the supplementary budget when the financial year was about to end.
