Kakamega county government has proposed a Ksh18 Billion budget estimates for the 2025/2026 financial year.

From the sum, Kshh12 billion will be used for recurrent expenditure representing 66.21 per cent of the budget while Ksh6,133,725,064 which represents 33.79 per cent will be spent on development.

From the recurrent expenditure Ksh6,900,402,043 will be spent on salaries while Ksh5,119,833,948 will be used on operation and maintenance.

In the budget estimates, the public service and administration has been allocated Ksh7.4billion taking the lion’s share, which translates to 40.8 per cent of the budget. The department of roads, public works and energy has been allocated Ksh1.68 billion translating to 9.3 per cent of the proposed budget.

It is followed by the health services department, which has been allocated Ksh1.6 billion.

The Kakamega County Assembly will receive an allocation of Ksh1,375,643,000 while the department of finance and economic planning has been allocated Sh1,084,916,843.

Others are water, environment and natural resources which has been allocated Sh. 902,374,867, Trade, Industrialization and Tourism Department has been allocated Ksh744,911,671 and social services, youth and sports allocated Ksh742,059,121.

The department of agriculture, livestock, fisheries and co-operatives has been allocated Ksh708,043,568, The department of education, science and technology has been allocated Ksh680,450,025 while the department of lands, housing, urban areas and physical planning Ksh636,407,768.

In the budget estimates, the office of the governor has been allocated Ksh338,674,740, The department of ICT, E-government and communication Ksh195,005,660 and the county public service board allocated Ksh26,359,495.

Speaking during a public participation forum on the Kakamega County budget estimates for the 2025/2026 financial year held on Thursday at Kakamega Social Hall, residents across the county urged the county government to prioritise completion of ongoing projects before embarking on new ones.

They also called for proper utilisation of funds calling out Members of County Assembly (MCAs) for failing in their oversight role.

A resident from Mumias West Sub County, Edmond Kasae asked the county administration to stop being over-ambitious and focus on addressing the pressing needs of communities.

A resident of Matungu Sub-County John Maurice Simbauni expressed concern that community needs are not being addressed fully yet funds are available with allocations being made every financial year.

“The budget we are passing here should not be a budget where funds will end up in individual pockets. If the money is there and has been disbursed, we want to see a similar amount of work done that corresponds with the amount of money received. Don’t tell us you have received 90 per cent of the money and the work being done is 10 per cent,” he explained.

The Chair of the County Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee Gildon Shioso who is also the MCA for Butsotso South Ward assured residents that the committee will ensure equal distribution of resources in all the 60 wards in the county.

“We are giving priority to the needs of the community like construction of roads, hospitals, hiring of doctors, provision of drugs, funding education and so on. We assure residents of Kakamega that the submissions we have received during public participation will be included in the budget before approval by the county assembly,” he noted.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Moses Wekesa and Philip Jonathan