Despite low allocation from the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) which places Elgeyo Marakwet second last out of all the 47 counties, the County chose to aggressively pursue the path of resource mobilization.
These efforts have yielded fruits after several resource mobilisation initiatives were approved by different development partners and are currently being implemented.
The World Bank approved the participation of the County in three major programmes that will see Elgeyo Marakwet benefit from over Ksh 400 million from the institution. This is after the County satisfied stringent conditions set by the bank, top being having a positive audit opinion from the Auditor General.
Reforms initiated by H.E Governor Alex Tolgos resulted in a positive audit opinion by the Office of the Auditor General for the 2016/2017 Financial Year which gave the County a qualified audit opinion and opened the doors to further funding from donors.
A qualified audit opinion is given to a public entity where auditors have found satisfactory statement of accounts with limited gaps.
The three World Bank programmes are the Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KDSP), the Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP) and the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Programme (KCSAP).
Under the KDSP, the County qualified for level two funding after meeting conditions set by the bank in level one phase of the programme. Thus, Elgeyo Marakwet is set to receive Ksh 169 million as a performance reward for meeting the qualifications among them clean financial records.
In the KCSAP, the County further qualified for support in mitigating climate change locally with the bank also allocating Ksh 117 million to implement the climate smart agriculture programme in six wards in Elgeyo Marakwet.
The six, Endo, Sambirir, Kapsowar, Sengwer, Kabiemit and Soy South, were picked to roll out the pilot phase of the programme which seeks to initiate agricultural activities that serve to reverse the causes of climate change.
The County was also successfully included in the KUSP receiving Ksh 130 Million to deliver improved infrastructure and services at the Iten Municipality which is the County headquarters.
Elgeyo Marakwet further applied for inclusion in the Sustainable Urban Economic Development Programme (SUED) funded by the British Government through the Department for International Development (DFID).
EMC was among 10 counties in Kenya who were successfully picked for this 5 year programme to support fast growing municipalities to develop sustainable urban economic plans and attract investment for critical infrastructure and value chain projects.
The 60 million Pounds (Ksh 6 billion) programme will see Elgeyo Marakwet get Ksh 400,000 million that will go towards municipality development.
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