Appendix A: MDWSD Policy Options
TABLE A.3
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County resource allocation and use
Enhance county planning, budgeting, and execution. Realign resources within and across sectors in counties that respond to local needs and national priorities for service delivery. KEY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
CONSIDERATIONS
POLICY OPTIONS
Planning and budgeting processes have not been sufficiently focused on the services counties are meant to finance.
County planning and budget processes to focus more on the delivery of services and less on the selection of projects.
Rationalize planning and budgeting documents to allow counties to focus on quality. Remove the requirement for counties to produce a CADP in addition to the CFSP.
Budgets should answer the simple budget questions:
Provide more support and guidance to counties to improve the quality of their program budgets by improving the formulation and selection of the key outputs expected from each county department and identifying a few important results and indicators for each sector. By planning and budgeting in relation to service delivery results, counties may improve their allocation and monitoring of spending.
Budget documents do not transparently set out either the allocation of funding across the county or the results that are to be achieved with public funds, making it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of public spending. Planning and budgeting processes focus on the selection of capital projects, not recurrent delivery of services. Participation processes are not working effectively.
1. What sectors and services is the budget being spent on? 2. Where is the budget being spent? 3. How much money is being spent at a school/ health facility/sub- county project? Clarity in decision- making and accountability processes, with rationalization of planning and budgeting documents to allow counties to focus on decisions relating to medium-term planning and then the annual budget.
IMPLEMENTATION RESPONSIBILITIES
TIME FRAME
Lead: NT&P CECs (finance)
Next 3 years
Involved: MoDA National ministries County departments
The ways in which counties allocate resources to sectors also needs to be revisited if services are to be improved. Ensure subcounty structures and facilities (a subcounty agricultural extension team, or a health facility) are shown as a cost center in budgets to clearly show the funds they are allocated to provide services. This will help provide a greater results-orientation of the county budget. The key rules for participatory budgeting need to be clarified in many counties: What is the size of the allocation over which the participatory process is making decisions? How can residents make a proposal for consideration? What is the decision-making process for selecting projects? Counties must also provide significant administrative support if participatory processes are to be effective. (continued next page)
