Governor George Natembeya has directed the Department of Finance to expedite the payment of suppliers who provided goods under the Nawiri Fund. During a meeting held on Thursday, the governor questioned the Department of Trade about the delay, stressing that the suppliers, who are primarily small-scale businesses, should have been paid promptly.

Finance Chief Officer Emmanuel Masungo explained that the delay was due to technical and time-related challenges. However, he assured Governor Natembeya and the suppliers that the remaining funds would be released within a week. He confirmed that sh.3.5 million had already been paid, and the outstanding sh.71 million would be disbursed soon.

The directive was issued during a performance contract signing event, where county chief officers committed to their roles for the upcoming year. Governor Natembeya also announced a restructuring of the street cleaning function, moving the responsibility from the Department of Environment to Kitale Municipality. This shift will include reallocating both human and financial resources from the Environment Department to the municipality.

The meeting saw participation from senior county officials, including Deputy Governor Philomena Kapkory and County Secretary Truphosa Amere. Among those signing performance contracts were Finance Chief Officer Masungo, Governance Chief Sammy Sichangi, Agriculture Chief Patrick Osoro, and others from various departments.

With the funds set to be released, Governor Natembeya reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensuring timely payments and enhancing service delivery across the county.