In Summary;
- Crisis meeting
- Procedure of requesting/approving exchequer releases
- Rejoinder; Budget Committee chairman
- #iKUWEiKUWE Corner
On 28.5.2021 The Controller of Budgets (CoB) APPROVED Kshs. 391 million meant for Bungoma salaries (executives) shortly after the exchequer released 711million to the county and the county subsequently in line with the laid down procedure approved and forwarded requisitions for the usage of the funds. It was the executive’s making to have salaries released in piecemeal after it refused to approve and forward salaries/allowances requisition from the Assembly as a way of arm-twisting the assembly to drop the impeachment motion.
In today’s Saturday, June 12, 2021 crisis meeting held at Mabanga Agricultural Training Centre, the county CEO confirmed that he has money but blamed the Assembly for tying his hands to pay salaries by failing to appropriate for the funds via the 2nd supplementary budget. Wangamati informed the selected senior managers that he will return the 2nd supplementary budget back to the Assembly on Tuesday, 15 June 2021 with a view of having it passed. In the meantime, he asked them to pass a message of hope to junior staff with high expectations from the assembly.
Here is the procedure of requesting and approving exchequer releases;
- The Clerk who’s the Assembly’s accounting officer prepares a work plan which is submitted to the desk of the Chief Officer Finance for action
- The Chief Officer Finance recommends and forwards the requisition to the County Coordinator of Budget.
- The County Coordinator of Budget recommends and forwards the requisition to the Controller of Budget for approval
- The Controller of Budget approves allowing Central Bank to wire cash to respective accounts i.e. Executive or Assembly
- Money is expended by various departments
In a rejoinder; The Kimaeti MCA Hon. Jack Wambuwa the Budget Committee chairman rubbished the governor’s excuse saying the Assembly has no role in release of salaries which are always catered for in the main budget. Supplementary budgets are for UNFORSEEN emergencies only and even if there were promotions involved it’d not amount to 183million. He encouraged Wangamati to pay County staff and stop playing with people’s livelihoods and minds.
#iKUWEiKUWE Corner;
#iKUWEiKUWE also learnt that for the supplementary budget to be appropriated, it needs about 28 days:
- The house resumed from recess on 8th June 2021
- The Executive wrote to the assembly informing them that they’ll need a 7-day notice to appear before ANY Committee as demanded by law… Assuming the Assembly had invited the Executive on 8th, Interrogation would then start on 15th June 2021
- Interrogations by sectoral committees would take about 5 days… to conclude on 20th
- Public Participation would take about 5 days… To conclude on 25th
- Budget Committee would need at minimum 4 days to draft a report… concluding on 29th
- 4 Assembly sittings to table, deliberate and pass the report…
Meaning they would have concluded the process in July 2nd… by this time IFMIS is closed for uploading … When will they appropriate the main budget whose deadline is 30th June 2021?
What EACC should investigate:
- IF some monies are wired to SECRET interest-making accounts… My rat is on this too
- WHO authorized the WIREMENT of the salaries monies to other expenditures?
