The Embu County Assembly has set aside Sh 680 Million for clearing pending bills and enhancing the Youth Fund.
County Assembly Budget and Appropriation Committee Chairman Harrison Mwaluko, while outlining the contents of the 2020/21 Embu County Fiscal Strategy Paper said the MCAs had considered the suffering the youths are undergoing after their businesses were paralysed by coronavirus and decided to cushion them by allocating Sh 30 Million for the youth fund.
Mwaluko who is also Mwea MCA said through the County Youth Enterprise Fund, the allocation of Sh 30 Million, translating to Sh 1.5 Million per each of the 20 wards will rescue youthful entrepreneurs from the ravages of Covid 19 and as well enable other young potential entrepreneurs to start businesses.
The Budget Committee Chairman however challenged Embu County Revenue Authority to put more efforts in tax collection to ensure that the County Government had enough funds to finance its budget.
“It would be futile to draft a people-oriented budget and fund the revenue collection body, then fail to implement projects due to unmet revenue targets,” Mwaluko noted.
The County Assembly Budget and Appropriation Committee also allocated Sh 650 Million for settling pending bills the county government owed to contractors and suppliers.
Deputy Speaker Steve Simba who doubles as Runyenjes Central Ward MCA said pending bills ‘was a monster’ that needed to be dealt with once and for all and must be avoided in future.
Simba also noted that the Assembly had made provisions in the Fiscal Strategy Paper, to ensure that all stalled and ongoing projects would be funded to completion in the next financial year.
He noted that Embu residents at the ward levels were yearning for development and thus their elected leaders should strive to deliver to their expectations.
The MCAs unanimously passed the motion by the Liaison Committee and adopted the Fiscal Strategy Paper in readiness for the coming year’s budget.
By Kimani Tirus
