Council of Governors (CoG) Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya, on Sunday, August 16, revealed that the Ksh5 billion Covid-19 kitty provided the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was yet to be received by most counties.
Speaking during a press briefing the Kakamega Governor expressed his frustration at the current state of affairs and inability of counties to meet their operational costs during the pandemic.
"Even the money that we received for Covid, the Ksh5 billion, most counties have not accessed that fund because immediately the money came, IFMIS was closed," he stated.
On July 1, USAID announced that it had given Ksh5 Billion to support Kenya’s response and recovery efforts to meet the immediate and longer-term challenges that Covid-19 was posing.
"We are focusing on ensuring resources get to the counties and communities, because Kenya’s communities are Kenya’s greatest asset in overcoming these challenges,” US Ambassador Kyle McCarter stated at the time.
As at July 3, the Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund Board had netted more than Ksh2.8 billion from corporates, foundations, religious institutions multinationals, and Kenyans towards supporting the government’s war against the virus.
Addressing the media at the time, Fund chairperson Jane Karuku, revealed that Ksh500 million would be disbursed via M-Pesa to the most vulnerable.
She further revealed that some of the money would go towards purchasing personal protective equipment (PPEs) for health workers and supporting the mental health of the medics.
However, in his latest remarks, Governor Oparanya maintained that most counties were yet to access funds from the Covid-19 kitty.
He further lamented over county services stalling due to lack of funding caused by the revenue sharing formula stalemate in the Senate.
"There is a proposal before the Senate by Senator Petronilla Were proposing an increase of county allocation from Ksh316 billion to Ksh348 billion. That is the proposal I want on behalf of my colleagues," he asserted.
He urged Senators to pass the proposed amendment on Monday, August, 17, lest counties plunge even further into chaos amidst the pandemic.
Regarding the multi-billion shilling Covid-19 tender scandal at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), Oparanya urged that counties be allowed the autonomy to choose their own suppliers, as long as KEBS approved the products in question to be of accepted global standards.
The KEMSA board of directors on Friday, August 14, suspended the CEO Jonah Manjari alongside directors Eliud Muriithi (Commercial) and Charles Jume (Procurement) to pave way for anti-graft officers to piece together a case against individuals who are accused of looting billions of shillings during the pandemic.
