Naema Tandao 
| Leah Nelima |
The Network for Research and Governance (NRG); a local Civil Society Organization (CSO), has pushed the Kakamega county government to give priority to resolving outstanding bills that have delayed the completion of infrastructure projects.
Paul Odongo, the director of the NRG, stated that unpaid payments, particularly those related to infrastructure projects, may cause projects to halt because contractors will abandon the building sites. He pointed out that if the bills are cleared slowly, there’s a chance that the job would be subpar and the homeowners won’t get value for their money.
According to the director, work on projects like the Level 6 hospital and Bukhungu Stadium has already slowed down, and it is rare to see contractors.
Odongo asked the county government to take into consideration finishing all of the projects it has been working on to serve the people in his speech following a meeting with budget champions to examine the report on pending Bills for Kakamega county and the national government.
He counseled the county government to properly plan all projects that can be finished within a given time period and budget.
“The county also needs to prioritise which are these projects they are doing and also indicate a specific timeframe and the budget that will complete those projects, putting into account that they assess their revenue bases and the capacity of collecting revenue,” he added.
Odongo stated that the CSO and proponents of the budget will advocate and pressure the county government to reimburse the contractors for their work so they can finish the projects. To improve openness, Odongo encouraged the county government to make all budget records available for public access in the meantime.
According to him, in order for taxpayers to follow the status and advancement of projects, the county website must include important budget papers like the implementation reports and the Citizen Budget, a condensed form of the program-based budget.
