Kisii Governorship aspirant Dr Enock Ondari Friday said low absorption of development funds in the county has began to hurt the economic potential of the region.
In the last three years alone, alleged Ondari, the Simba Arati administrative has returned to the National Treasury as unspent balances about Sh10 billion.
“Returning funds to the National Treasury is symptomatic of dysfunctional political leadership.”
“When we return money, we deny our people services, we condemn them to poor health services,” said Ondari.
He was speaking at two separate burials in Bointagare and Sugubo in Nyacheki on Friday.
The former Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital boss said three years for Governor Arati in office were already painful enough for the residents to warrant a change in governorship.
“It is unacceptable that money meant to transform the lives of our people come and lie dle or get returned, yet our roads are in disrepair, our health facilities are struggling, and our youth lack employment opportunities,” said Ondari.
The regional devolved unit was recently flagged by the office of the Controller of Budget for returning huge unspent funds to the National Treasury, specifically funds allocated for development projects.
The action, added Ondari irks no end because it indicates a failure by the governor to utilize allocated resources for their intended purposes.
Nairobi, Kisii, and Mombasa had since been cited among the worst performers, spending significantly less on development projects.
Nairobi County had alone allocated only 10.3 per cent of its total expenditure to development, while Kisii spent 13.7 per cent, Mombasa 16.2 per cent, and Kisumu 17.5 per cent.
Other counties that fell below the required threshold included Taita-Taveta at 18.6 per cent and Kiambu at 19.4 per cent.
Dr Ondari said good discal management was lacking in Kisii occasioning wrong prioritization.
“There is no timely implementation of projects and this results underperformance,” Ondari stated.
Ondari said his bid for governorship was firmly on course and there was no reverse gear.
“For those asking about by experience to manage public resources, go to the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, there is a rich legacy that documents what I can do,” he said.
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