Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa (right) with his deputy Ayub Savula during the commissioning of a modern Hatchery in Butere on Monday /HILTON OTENYO 




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Governors now want the National Treasury to extend closure of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) by two weeks.

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The Council of Governors (CoG)’s Finance and Economic Planning committee chairman Fernandes Barasa said the extension would allow counties time to absorb funds meant for the last financial year that was disbursed late.

 

“Through the office of the minister for National Treasury and Controller of Budget, I want to request extension of closure of IFMIS spot that we can get approvals in timer fort payment of outstanding contractors,” he said.

 

“This will help counties avoid returning unspent funds to the exchequer because this often hinders the progress of key development projects at the grassroots level,” he said.

 

Barasa said there is need for flexibility in financial systems to accommodate the unique and recurring transaction challenges faced by devolved units, particularly towards every end of the financial year.

 

The governor was speaking during the official commissioning of a modern poultry Hatchery at the Butere Hatchery Farm in Butere on Monday.

 

He was accompanied by his deputy Ayub Savula and county agriculture and Livestock Development executive Morphat Mandela.

 

The Hatchery has the capacity to hatch 10,000 chicks every 21 days. Poultry is one of the programmes the county government is promoting to encourage farmers to diversify from over reliance sugarcane farming to boost their incomes.

 

The county government is also promoting dairy farming and aquaculture.

 

Barasa said it will be difficult for counties to pay outstanding contractors after the closure of the system. County governments have blamed their inability to fully absorb funds they receive from the Treasury within a fiscal year to erratic disbursements.

 

The Treasury released the last disbursement of Sh31 billion shareable revenue to counties last Wednesday, five days before the closure of the IFMIS.

 

IFMIS is closed down on June 30 midnight.

 

This is meant to allow county governments to prepare and submit expenditure plans for approval by the Controller of Budget.

 

The sudden release of the funds in the last week of the financial year put counties under pressure, prompting them to submit urgent spending requests to the Controller of Budget before closure of the IFMIS system.

 

Last year, the Treasury delayed the disbursement of Sh30 billion funds for June, which were only released in the subsequent financial year.