Counties

Nairobi MCAs want projects account to ease Sh1.5bn access

City-hall

An aerial view of Nairobi City Hall. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Nairobi county assembly members (MCAs) are rooting for the creation of an account to manage funds allocated for ward development to ensure completion within schedule.

This follows complaints by the county legislators over slow pace of execution of development projects in their wards.

The account, General Purpose Account, will be used to hold the Sh1.5 billion allocated for Nairobi’s 85 wards in the financial year ending June 30, 2022.

The ward representatives argued that having a ward development fund (WDF)-specific account will see roll out of projects expedited as well as the funds dedicated to only such projects.

Nairobi County Assembly Budget and Appropriations committee chairperson Robert Mbatia said funds from the county revenue fund account to the general purpose account.

This, he said, will mean that even if members will not manage to do any project in a financial year, those funds will still be domiciled and can be spent in that particular ward in the next financial year.

“The issue of WDF is the elephant in the room. This current financial year of 2020/21, no member in the 85 wards has managed to have their project started. That is the anxiety at the assembly with the General Election just around the corner,” said Mr Mbatia.

“Let the members be assured that there are discussions underway and the WDF is being taken as first priority. We are proposing and we are in the process of opening a General Purpose Account for the funds for this financial year on development projects,” he added.

The Kariobangi Ward MCA said that the committee has already initiated discussion with the County Treasury and the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) to actualise the plan, which should be in place by the end of the current calendar year.

“The plan of the budget committee, County Treasury and NMS is that by the end of this calendar year we will have at least some of the funds in the general purpose account,” he said.

WDF, which was previously under the office of the Governor, was last year moved by the county legislators to NMS under the Directorate of Public Works.