Kwale Audit Report Exposes Gaps in Public Funds, Disability Inclusion.
Kwale County budget champions
By Caroline Katana
Questions over county funding and gaps in the inclusion of persons with disabilities have emerged from a review of the Auditor-General’s report on Kwale County, prompting calls for stronger accountability and closer citizen scrutiny of public resources.
Budget champions, civil society representatives, county officials and other stakeholders who met to examine the audit report said citizens should not limit their participation to public hearings but should also follow what happens to their proposals, county allocations and expenditure through implementation and audit.
Patricia Kamende, a Budget Champion with the Coast Region Budget Hub, said the review had identified several issues requiring follow-up, including unresolved matters from previous audit reports.
She said the discussion also raised questions over the amount of money expected by the county, the funds received and what was eventually spent.
According to figures discussed during the meeting, more than Sh13 billion was expected, while about Sh7 billion was received and approximately Sh5 billion spent.
“From the Sh13 billion to Sh7 billion, those are Sh6 billion that we have missed. So our first question is why, and what is the Senate doing to ensure that the allocation intended for the counties reaches them?” Kamende said.
She said the stakeholders would seek clarification from Kwale Senator on the reported funding gap while also engaging the Kwale County Assembly on issues raised in the audit process.
Kamende said Memorandum would be submitted to the Assembly and discussions held with both the legislature and County Executive to establish what action was being taken on the audit issues.
“We want to know what plans they have to ensure that the Executive does what the Auditor-General has advised,” she said.
The discussions also brought to the fore concerns over the participation and representation of persons with disabilities in county planning and budgeting.
Mwalimu Ali of Muslim Women Advancement of Rights and Protection (MWARP) said the county does not have comprehensive and current data showing the number of persons with disabilities and their different categories.
He said the data gap was affecting planning because the county could not accurately determine the size and specific needs of the population it was planning for.
“When you want to plan something, you must have data. That data will guide you on the needs of these people, how many they are and what they require according to their different categories,” Ali said.
He said persons with disabilities have different needs and include people with visual, physical and other forms of disabilities, making accurate data essential for targeted budgeting and service delivery.
Ali proposed the appointment of a Disability Mainstreaming Officer within the county government to advise departments on disability inclusion in planning, budgeting and implementation.
He also called for stronger implementation of the five per cent employment requirement for persons with disabilities.
“We want things to be done according to the law. We should not just be helped as if we are outside the system. We want the five per cent employment requirement for persons with disabilities to be implemented,” Ali said.
He said the county should take greater responsibility for collecting and maintaining disability data instead of relying mainly on information from national institutions or older population data.
“People living with disabilities are citizens like any other citizen. They pay taxes, they contribute and they are also residents of Kwale,” he said.
The concern over inclusion was echoed by Nyae Abdullah Joto, a Kinango-based budget champion with the Coast Region Budget Hub, who said disability-related allocations should be clearly identifiable within county budgets.
Joto said persons with disabilities risk being overlooked when their needs are absorbed into broader programmes without specific allocations that can be tracked.
“We want their budget to be visible so that it can be easily tracked,” he said.
He said the county should strengthen the participation of persons with disabilities throughout the budget cycle and ensure their needs are reflected in actual allocations.
For young people participating in the forum, the discussions also highlighted the need to change how residents engage with the budget process.
Hope Esther Aywa of Nipo Nisikike Movement said many residents attend public participation forums, present their proposals and then disengage from the process.
She said citizens have a role in following up on whether their proposals are reflected in the budget and whether the resulting programmes are implemented.
“After giving your proposals during public participation, we should continue with the next step, until we reach auditing,” Aywa said.
She urged residents to use advocacy and other platforms to seek accountability when projects they proposed are not implemented.
Aywa said continued citizen engagement was necessary because, without follow-up, residents may have little influence over what is eventually implemented.
Johnson Maingi, a member of Kwale County Budget and Economic Forum ( CBEF ) said the forum had helped participants understand the budget cycle and the reports used to account for public resources.
He urged stakeholders to take advantage of budget and audit documents whenever they are made available and participate in forums aimed at explaining how public funds are managed.
“We are asking all stakeholders who are given these documents or invited to meetings like this to come forward so that the citizen can also gain an understanding of these issues,” Maingi said.
The stakeholders said they would continue engaging the County Assembly, County Executive and Senate on the issues identified during the review.
The discussions ultimately placed emphasis on a broader role for citizens in public finance — from participating in budget planning to monitoring implementation and examining audit findings to establish whether public resources are delivering the services and projects intended for Kwale residents.
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