Lamu, KENYA: Lamu leaders have complained saying the little amount of money allocated to the county by the Commission on Revenue Allocation-CRA inhibits development.
Lamu deputy governor Abdulhakim Aboud and senator Anwar Loitiptip said the CRA does that knowing fully well the humongous challenges the county has to deal with.
Lamu gets an annual allocation of between Sh.1.8 billion to Sh.2.4 billion compared to other counties that are allocated ‘handsome amounts’.
The leaders said the allocation of little funds to the county is based Lamu’s population as reflected by the 2009 census which stands at 128,000 which they say is not the true figure of the entire county population.
They argue the census failed to put into consideration the over 50,000 residents who work or leave in other counties and even abroad.
They said the county is faced with a myriad of challenges that include costly transportation across the Indian Ocean and urged the CRA to increase Lamu’s allocation to atleast Sh.4 billion.
They said the CRA fails to put into consideration the area covered by the Indian Ocean whenever they are working on size of Lamu county.
Majority of the county is covered by the Indian Ocean.
They urged residents who reside on other counties and countries to make a point of availing themselves for census.
“Working in Lamu is expensive and mostly because of transportation.Moving around on the Indian Ocean is really costly yet the county government must ensure services reach there.Our roads are equally in bad shape.Lamu has many people who weren’t considered during the last census since they either reside in outside counties or countries.The CRA must work on increasing our allocation to Sh.4 Million,”said Aboud.
Senator Anwar pledged to present a motion seeking to increase Lamu’s allocation soon.
“Lamu is abig county and those claiming its small are making a very costly mistake.We need more than what we get to develop this county,”said Loitiptip.
