Kakamega county assembly budget committee chairman Gildon Shioso receiving memoranda on the proposed 2026-27 budget estimates during public participation at the Kakamega social hall on Friday /HILTON OTENYOKakamega residents have termed the proposed Sh16.7 billion budget estimates for the next financial year as a mere public relations exercise.
Speaking during a public participation forum on the draft 2026-27 budget at Kakamega Social Hall, the residents claimed that most of the proposals they give views on are not implemented.
Hudson George from the Malava constituency cited the stalled Malava milk processing plant, claiming nothing was happening on the ground despite the project being allocated funds for the last three years.
“It has been turned into a holding ground for money before being shifted to other projects. We’re not sure that even the Sh20 million allocated in this draft budget will do anything,” he further alleged.
The youths' representative Shilla Okumbi from Lurambi constituency said that views given by residents on proposed budgets are never taken into account by the county government.
She said that safety of the residents is at stake as all four fire engines have stalled for years now, despite budgetary allocations every year.
She also said that most contractors were compromising standards of roads in the county. “Contractors have turned roads into a perishable product. Let’s work on durability and not perishability,” she said.
The county government intends to raise funds to finance its budget by raising Sh2.2 billion from its own sources revenue, Sh13.2 billion from shareable revenue and another Sh1.3 billion from donor funding.
The budget comprises Sh11.58 billion recurrent, representing 69.1 per cent, and Sh5.1 billion development, translating into 30.9 per cent.
Public services and administration has been allocated the lion share of Sh7.4 billion followed by health services, with Sh1.4 billion, and public works and energy, which has been allocated Sh1.3 billion.
A total of Sh50 million has been allocated for the completion and equipping of the first phase of the Kakamega Level 6 Hospital, and another Sh80 million is allocated for Bukhungu Stadium.
The national government is supporting the completion and equipping of the referral hospital. It is also supporting the ongoing upgrade of Bukhungu Stadium to international standards.
Catherine Shihundu, representing people with disabilities, said that the budget is silent on sexual reproduction health and disability sports.
She said the county should scrap the county polytechnic bursaries and use the money to increase capitation and equipping polytechnics.
Arcadius Mungata, representing civil societies, said nothing had been allocated to mental health yet residents, especially the youth were suffering due to unemployment.
He said the allocation of Sh10 million for technical and vocational education and training was too little to have any impact. County assembly majority leader Philip Maina said the assembly was not to blame for what was not implemented.
“We do our bit and pass it to the executive for implementation,” he said.
County director of budget Herman Musungu said that views by residents are normally considered.
