Murang’a: The Murang’a County Assembly has proposed an increase in the funding for the health sector in the 2025/2026 budget to ensure improved service delivery in all local hospitals.
According to Kenya News Agency, in a report on the county government Annual Development Plan (ADP) tabled in the Assembly, the MCAs said Sh800 million should be allocated to facilitate the purchase of pharmaceutical supplies to be distributed to all public health facilities within the county. Presenting the report, the Chairperson of the Assembly’s sectorial Committee for Finance and Economic Planning, John Kibaiya, stated that with increased budgetary allocation in the sector, it will widen the range of quality services in the Level 5 and 4 hospitals, thereby increasing the health sector’s revenue base.
Kibaiya noted that there has been improvement in the health sector since the current regime took over, especially through the Kang’ata Care programme. However, he mentioned that not enough money has been allocated to meet the demand for medical drugs due to a shortage and competition of resources within departments. The Gatanga MCA further highlighted that the ADP presented the development trajectory the county government wishes to undertake to achieve its set objectives and priorities.
Kibaiya praised the report for accommodating every sector in the county and ensuring that all projects are funded and actualized in the course of the next financial year. He emphasized that the ADP is the basis of the budgeting process and no project can be included in the budget without being in the ADP first. If the process is conducted correctly, the budget process will be simplified and clear, reducing the need for supplementary budgets.
He urged all sectoral committees to review their work plans regularly and ensure adherence to the development trajectory. Kibaiya also expressed gratitude to the members of the public who made oral submissions and submitted their written memoranda on the ADP. He observed that the report has been committed to the various sectoral committees for review in line with their respective mandates and also embraced proposals from public participation forums.
Members of the committee recommended that the county public service administration develop ways of motivating their personnel, indicating that this correlates with the achievement of targets and outputs in the approved projects. The ADP also proposed allocating funds to modernize the Ikundu Coffee factory to serve the entire county in milling farmers’ coffee. Modernization of the factory, located in the Maragua area, was seen as a move to help revive the coffee sector, enabling farmers to fetch better earnings from the sale of processed coffee.
Supporting the report, nominated MCA Gladys Wambui advocated for the rehabilitation of the Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga cultural centre to be included in the next financial year budget as a way to promote local tourism. She emphasized that it is time for Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga to be rehabilitated and recognized as a cultural site to attract tourists, preserve the heritage of forefathers, and earn the county revenue.