GOVERNOR MUTULA KILONZO JR ON MONDAY APPEARED BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE FOR COUNTY PUBLIC INVESTMENTS AND SPECIAL FUNDS.

Meeting with the Senate Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds on Issues Raised by the Auditor General Report on Financial Statements of Makueni County Emergency Fund, Youth, Persons with Disabilities and Table Banking, Groups Empowerment Fund and the Makueni Bursary Fund for the Financial years ending 30th June 2019/20,2020/2021and 2021/2022

1. Emergency Fund
   The issue raised was Purchase of a Generator by the Executive for Wote Water and sewerage Company (WOWASCO) in the financial year 2021/2022.

The intervention was done during the second wave of Covid 19 and just before the Devolution Conference.

2. Bursary Fund
   The issues raised here were mainly on lack of proper legislation and unclear guidelines on bursaries and Scholarships in the years under consideration

The County is in the process of enacting the Bursaries and Scholarships Legislation which has been submitted to the County Assembly awaiting enactment.
The regulations have also been reviewed to give clear guideline on the criteria to be used in Bursaries and Scholarships issuance.

3. The Makueni Empowerment Fund
   The fund had faced high default rate on the loan advanced, had a skewed Memorandum of Understanding with the Bank and operated under a manual system leading to questions whether it is a going concern.

There major interventions after exiting the skewed memorandum.
a) The partnership with World Food Programme has seen the reconstruction of the lending structural aspects of the fund through capacity building.
b) The Fund, in partnership with Safaricom, has set out to co-create a system aimed at digitizing the whole lending experience
c) The Fund through the Department has partnered with Village Enterprise to develop The Makueni County Ultra-Poor Graduation Policy.
d) Enactment of an Empowerment Fund Act
e) Unutilised funds have been put on an interest earning account