Kilifi County assembly on Tuesday passed the 2018/2019 county budget estimates which was estimated at Sh13.6 billion.
The chairman of the Kilifi county budget committee who is also the MCA for Gongoni ward in Magarinii constituency, Albert Kiraga, said the budget has touched every sector within the county.
Speaking while deliberating the 2018/2019budget before the county assembly, Kiraga said that as a committee they considered key issues before allocating for money to every project and sector.
“If you look at this budget it totally different from the 2017/2018 budget, we have been able to prove a total of 508 million shillings to cater for collapsed projects which by then the projects were supposed to have been completed by the last year’s budget,” said Kiraga.
“We were forced to reinstate the collapsed projects after the public outcry that the county keeps on launching new projects instead of focusing on completing new projects,” he added.
Mr Kiraga added that a total of Sh214 million which was set a side for the construction of the Kilifi County deputy governor's residence had to be reduced after locals complained that the money should be used for other projects.
“As the budge committee we had to reduce the 214 million shillings budget for the Governors house to 100 million shillings after residents protested that no single penny should be set aside for the constructions of the governors house,” he said.
According to the chairman, the new budget has approved a total of Sh3 million for people living with disability in the county, adding that in health sector money has been allocated to boost the sector in terms of drugs supply and also service delivery.
“This is the budget that every netizen of Kilfi County will agree on it, for the first time a budget in this county has been approved few days before the deadline and it has considered PWDs who for long have been a shadow in the budget,” he stated.
Meanwhile the county assembly speaker Jimmy Kahindi accused the Rain Drops Company which was mandated to collect revenue in the county for failing to meet the set targets after collecting only Sh 300 million per year instead of Sh1.3 billion.
"There are few issues that the county should consider to avoid pending bills and collapsed projects, the current company which collects revenue on a daily basis has failed us, this year’s revenue target is 1.4 billion, how I wish we look for other alternative to collect the revenue," he said.