A budget impasse has thrown Machakos County into uncertainty, after County Assembly Rejects the Governors Memorandum on Sh 17.7billion Machakos County appropriation Bill, leaving key services on the brink.
This comes after Governor Wavinya Ndeti, declined to assent to the County Appropriation Bill, citing illegal alterations amounting to Sh853.96 million by the County Assembly.
Governor Ndeti, addressing residents at a public engagement forum convened to discuss the deadlock, said the changes introduced by MCAs violated the Public Finance Management Act and would cripple essential services.
In a memorandum returned to the Assembly, the Governor listed amendments she termed unauthorized and unprocedural, warning they would dismantle the County’s revenue base, stall infrastructure projects and disrupt health and social programmes.
At the Centre of the dispute is a Sh126.9 million cut to the Integrated Revenue Management System (RMS). The Executive said the system has been critical in growing own-source revenue from Sh1 billion to Sh3.5 billion during Ndeti’s tenure, and that defunding it would make the projected Sh4.93 billion target unattainable, triggering shortfalls across all departments.
County Administration has also been hit. According to the Executive, the Assembly removed Sh90 million from the Directorate of County Administration, translating to a Sh9.67 million reduction per sub-county and leaving local offices with an estimated Sh47,000 per month to serve residents.
Infrastructure projects are equally affected, with funding withdrawn from key transport corridors, including the Lita-Miti Muonza and Masinga-Ekalakala-Kaewa roads. The Executive said the cuts halt ongoing construction on high-traffic routes considered vital to the county’s economy.
Health and sanitation services face imminent disruption following a Sh78.32 million reduction to solid waste management.
The allocation covers contracted garbage collection in three municipalities, and officials warned that its removal could expose residents to disease outbreaks. Cuts to medical supplies for sub-county hospitals were also flagged.
Youth and education programmes have not been spared. The Executive said reduced funding for the Machakos Youth Service (MYS) will stall plans to upgrade Vocational Training Centres into Centres of Excellence for skills and job creation, while cuts to bursaries contravene the Basic Education Scholarships and Bursaries Bill and threaten support for vulnerable learners.
Further, reductions to climate change operational funds could put the county out of compliance with requirements for donor programmes such as FLLoC
“As the custodian of executive authority in this County, I cannot in good conscience sign into law a legislation that openly violates statutory limits, dismantles essential public services, undermines our financial foundation, and directly imperils the lives and livelihoods of our people.”
Residents at the forum urged MCAs to resolve the standoff and pass a lawful budget to avert service paralysis.
By Mary Mutanu
