Kitui Governor Malombe focuses on health, water and roads as he returns supplementary appropriation bill

Kitui Governor Julius Malombe has refused to assent to the county’s Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2024.

The proposed law seeks to authorize the issue of money out of the County Revenue Fund towards the 2024/25 financial year and was presented to him for assent on November 28.

“In exercise of the powers conferred to me by section 24(2) of the County Governments Act, 2012 and having reservations on the contents of the Kitui County Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2024, I decline to assent to the Bill,” Governor Malombe said in a memorandum to the county assembly speaker dated November 29.

He outlined a raft of recommendations in line with his decision, among them the withdrawal of the county assembly’s proposal to have an additional Ksh.100 million for the construction of the assembly’s new office block.

Malombe further proposed the dropping of the entire Ksh.60 million proposal for hiring and leasing tractors.

"It is a complicated matter to lease equipment directly from the private sector with respect to procurement processes; Lease of equipment from the National Government/ National Youth Service is too expensive compared to those from the private sector," the governor said.

"Most roads in the county have been destroyed by rains and therefore we need to construct the roads rather than maintain them through grading." 

At the same time, Malombe also recommended the reinstating of Ksh.15 million the county department of lands requires for an integrated lands information management system, which the county assembly had reduced by Ksh 12 million.

The governor also requested Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) to allocate Ksh.24.5 million for road improvement under the Dustless Towns program.

Kitui MCAs had dropped the program's Ksh.65 million balance in its entirety.

Other recommendations Malombe gave are the reinstating of the Ksh.6.5 million allocation for furnishing all 247 village administrators’ offices across the county, as well as the reinstating of Ksh.5.5 million to enhance the budget for the governor’s communications activities, among others.