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City Hall sets aside Sh10m for purchase of power generator


City Hall has set aside Sh10 million for the supply and installation of a backup generator for the executive wing to ensure non-disruption of services due to power outages.

This is even as the Nairobi County Assembly has had its development expenditure slashed by more than Sh450 million in the current revised supplementary budget by the executive.

The new allocations is carried in the Supplementary II Budget Estimates for the financial year 2018/2019 tabled before the Nairobi County Assembly last week on April 10, 2019.

City Hall and the adjacent City Hall Annex have experienced frequent power blackouts either due to normal power outages or when Kenya Power cuts out supply to the buildings because of outstanding debt owed by the county.

This has on numerous occasions plunged the buildings into total darkness leading to paralysis of services at the establishments with access to the bust City Hall Annex only possible through the staircase as a result of non-functioning lifts.

RECURRENT EXPENDITURE

The Assembly’s development expenditure of Sh592 million has now been revised to Sh135, 570, 000. This means that Sh456, 430, 000 has been slashed from the original budget. The recurrent expenditure remains at Sh1.387 billion.

Consequently, the cut has been transferred to the executive to cover for its recurrent expenditure which has been revised upwards by more than Sh996 million.

In the new estimates, the City Hall’s recurrent expenditure allocation will now be Sh22 billion from the previous Sh21.3 billion.

To balance books as a result of the increase in the recurrent expenditure, the executive’s development expenditure has been slashed by over Sh540 million from Sh10.34 billion to Sh9.8 billion.

MONTHLY CLEANUPS

In other revisions, the county has allocated Sh210 million for the hiring of security guards to provide safety in all county installations. Sh185 million has also been set aside for purchase of vehicles for county executives to enhance their mobility.

Monthly cleanups and beautification programme, which attracted audit queries by the Auditor General, has been enhanced by Sh600 million.

At the same time, Ward Development Fund (WDF) programmes got Sh801 million to facilitate payment of the programmes under Public Works, Transport and Infrastructure.

Last month, MCAs raised concerns that most procured WDF projects worth Sh700 million in the 2017/2018 financial year through Public Works have stalled with Sh320 million such projects still pending.

Additional allocations have gone to the clearance of pending bills: Public Works and Transport getting Sh100 million, Trade Sh46 million and Finance and Economic Planning Sh43.7 million as well as Sh162 million provided for the settlement of legal fees and legislative drafting.