Counties

EU in Sh54 billion grant to State, counties

county

From left, Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney, FAO Representative Kenya Dr Gabriel Rugalema and head of Cooperation EU – Delegation Kenya Perr Hubert at a past event in Nairobi. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO

The government has obtained a Sh54 billion grant from the European Union (EU) to support its five-year development agenda and the functioning of devolved governments.

The funds will be channelled towards universal healthcare, manufacturing, housing and job creation, which are some of the key pillars of President Uhuru Kenyatta's Big Four agenda.

The EU said it issued the funds in order to support Kenya in a manner that will have an impact on people at the grassroots level.

Growth

EU’s Delegation to Kenya, through its head of development cooperation Hubert Perr, said the European body prioritised support for devolution by committing Sh1.8 billion of the money to support growth in 15 counties.

In a two-day retreat which began yesterday at the Lake Nakuru Lodge involving the government and various development partners, the EU committed to support Kenya's priority sectors of growth.

The State, through the National Treasury, urged development partners to align their support with Uhuru's Big Four agenda.

“It is our expectation that our Development Partners will align to these priorities...We encourage them to align their support to the government planning cycle, with a focus on the ‘Big Four’,” said Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich in a speech read by PS Kamau Thugge.

The PS said government is finalising implementation of a framework whose priority is the Big Four agenda, widely considered Mr Kenyatta's legacy project as he embarks on his final term in office.

Support women

Representing the Council of Governors, Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso urged the national government and the various partners to consider channelling a substantial amount of the funds to boost women-led initiatives.

She added that counties had aligned their plans with the national government’s as a way of ensuring uniformity of growth across Kenya.

“We want to have wholesome local economic development at the counties that subsequently integrates into the overall development agenda,” said Ms Laboso, who is also CoG’s chairperson of the Finance, Commerce & Economic Affairs Committee.

She, however, observed that there have been cases of duplication of projects because of development partners initiating similar projects in the counties.

“A number of development partners are providing for funds for implementation of similar programmes within the same county. We recommend that we need a separate donor roundtable to map out who does what and in what region to avoid duplication and to promote systematic engagement,” Ms Laboso said.

READ: Uhuru roots for new financing model for housing projects

How local firms will find Big 4 a challenge