This archive report was first published on 11 June 2020.
Published on June 11, 2020, Kwale County Assembly has dealt Governor Salim Mvurya a blow after rejecting an allocation of Sh160 million for Covid-19 relief food.
The assembly redirected most of the money to health, sparing the county executive a paltry Sh5 million for the food vote in the changes to the supplementary budget proposed by the governor.
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.
However, Governor Mvurya accused the assembly of playing politics in the decision to slash the Sh160 million meant to buy food for an estimated 500,000 vulnerable people to Sh5 million.
