This archive report was first published on 13 May 2020.
Published on May 13, 2020, the 2020/2021 Fiscal Strategy paper for Nakuru County reveals a significant shift in budget allocations. Seventy percent of the budget will be spent on recurrent expenditure, while only 30 percent will go towards development projects.
According to the paper, the county government estimates its budget at Sh14.5 billion, with Sh10.1 billion and Sh4.4 billion allocated towards recurrent and development expenditures respectively. This is a drop of Sh6.8 billion compared to the current financial year's budget of Sh21.3 billion.
However, the final estimates are expected to rise to nearly Sh20 billion once the county reports on its rollover, which accumulated to Sh3.9 billion for development projects last year. The county is also facing a reduction in own revenue collections due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with Governor Lee Kinyanjui announcing a projected drop of Sh800 million.
Additionally, the county is set to face a budget cut of Sh700 million after the National Treasury announced plans to slash county allocations by Sh46 billion due to the pandemic. Despite these challenges, the ward development kitty has been enhanced from Sh1.5 billion to Sh1.6 billion, translating to Sh25.4 million for each of the 55 wards.
The Health department will take the lion's share of the total budget, with an estimated allocation of Sh6 billion (41.8 percent). The County Assembly will receive 7.7 percent of the budget, amounting to Sh1.1 billion, with Sh140 million allocated for development votes. This budget also marks the first allocation of funds for the Nakuru and Naivasha municipalities, with Nakuru town gearing towards attaining city status later this year.
