Members of the Machakos County Assembly under the leadership of speaker Florence Mwangangi have approved County supplementary Appropriation Bill 2022, which was tabled by Dominic Ndambuki the chairperson Budget and Appropriation Committee.
Ndambuki while at the County assembly on Tuesday, revealed that the spending priorities have been informed by the efforts being made by the National and county governments to stabilize the economy through an effort to uplift service delivery.
“The spending priorities for the Budget Estimates were informed by the efforts being made by the national and county governments to stabilize the economy in a concerted effort to alleviate service delivery and contribute significantly to improving the lives of residents,” said Ndambuki.
He said the health sector had been allocated the highest amount at Sh4.3billion which would help purchase pharmaceutical materials, construction and completion of health facilities as well as catering for emergency services.
“The health sector has been allotted the most funds totaling Sh4.3 billion, which will be used to purchase pharmaceutical supplies, construct and complete health facilities, and provide emergency service,” said Ndambuki.
While seconding the motion, Helen Ndeti said that many health facilities lacked proper amenities and the right infrastructure, something which is very vital to all citizens so money should be distributed equally to all the health facilities.
“It’s evident that many health facilities lack basic amenities and infrastructure, which is very important for all citizens and the funds should be distributed fairly,” said Ndeti.
Ndeti added that the funds should not be used during the campaign period to give political mileage to some leaders but should be used for the right purpose.
“The money should be used for the intended purposes as outlined in the Budget, and they should not be exploited during the campaign season to give political mileage to certain politicians,” warned Ndeti.
Last week, the County Executive Member Finance and Economic Planning Naomi Mutie, presented the budget highlights to the Machakos County Assembly for the financial year 2022/2023.
CEC Mutie said the budget for the year is 11.7 b, and out of this the health sector will be getting the bigger share as its allocated Sh4.2b, of which Sh3.8 goes to payment of salaries, Sh400m for payment of drugs, and Sh800m for maintenance and improvement of the County’s Health Sector.
She further noted that the other reason the health sector got the highest amount was it consumed more than 30 percent of the total budget in terms of the wage bills, which has been occasioned by the number of health workers.
