Counties get Ksh 1.6B grant from European Union

The European Union has donated Ksh 1.6 billion in form of grants to 15 counties to support their operations.

In a statement to newsrooms, the Council of Governors said that the money will go to the European Union funded Instruments for Devolution Advice and Support (IDEAS) programme.

The programme (IDEAS), will be implemented over a period of 4 years and will be channeled to Local Economic Development or Local Revenue Generation.

The Council, EU and Devolution Ministry said: “We recommend the immediate establishment of a Technical Implementation Committee that comprise of all the relevant stakeholders implementing the programme.”

The projects to benefit from this amount will be identified from the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) of the listed counties.

EU made the funding announcement following a consultative meeting held on Thursday between its representatives, the Council of Governors and the Ministry of Devolution and Planning.

The programme will be supported by the European Union, Council of Governors, the Ministry of Devolution and Planning, the National Treasury and the Kenya School of Government.

The beneficiary counties are: Baringo County, Kwale County, Wajir County, Taita Taveta County, Makueni County, Tana River County, Migori County, Kisii County, Kisumu County, Nyandarua County, Laikipia County, West Pokot County, Samburu County, Marsabit County and Uasin Gishu County.

The conditional grants fund will flow in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and its attendant regulations.

The programme will be co – financed where counties will avail at least 5% of the project budget.