Turkana County government requires Sh149 billion to fund its five year County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP).
Speaking to the press after a planning meeting attended by County Executive Committee (CEC) members, Chief officers and directors in Lodwar on Tuesday, CEC for Finance and Planning Robert Loteleng’o said the county would raise Sh 60 billion from its allocation from the National Treasury and would be looking for partners to fund the deficit.
“The reason why the CIDP is ambitious is because we have partners like the Norwegian government, Department for International Development (DFID), and European Union who are willing to support us to achieve our development priorities,” said Loteleng’o.
The county seeks to attract more funding through the United Nations delivery under one project that allows international organizations to fund the county priorities.
The CIDP focuses on five key areas namely water development, food security, mineral and natural resources management, partnerships and investments, resource mobilization and utilization, peace building and cross border initiatives.
CIDP is yet to be launched to the public but the Finance CEC said members of the public and key stakeholders would be invited for the launch.
County Secretary Peter Eripete who was chairing the meeting said CIDP has already been passed by the county Assembly adding that the various ministries have been tasked to mobilize resources to fund the plan.
“One of the reasons for this meeting was to encourage ministries to mobilise resources to ensure we get money to fund the CIDP,” said Eripete.
He added that the county is committed to ensure that all staff were managed well for maximum output.
At the same time, Lotelengo said the county has fully embraced the IFMIS and e-procurement to promote accountability in the use of government funds.
“We have trained our staff on IFMIS and also trained the contractors in the county on e-procurement for efficient resource management,” said Lotelengo.
IFMIS has helped curb graft in the award of tenders and helped in tracking of payments due to contractors.
Last week Governor Josphat Nanok challenged his chief officers and procurement officers to take charge and ensure contractors payments are not delayed unnecessarily.
By Peter Gitonga
