NAIROBI, 22 May 2018 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has pitched for the inclusion of the urban poor so that they could benefit from the Equalisation Fund like other marginalised communities in the rural areas.
The President said the urban poor – mainly those in informal settlements – lived in precarious conditions and also needed to be accorded equal consideration as other marginalised communities in the rural areas.
The Equalisation Fund seeks to provide services in accordance to what the communities identified as their priorities and which include health, education, infrastructure, energy and water.
President Kenyatta was speaking today at State House, Nairobi, when he received a report on the ‘Second Policy Identifying Marginalised Areas of Kenya and the Criteria for Sharing Revenue from the Equalisation Fund’.
The report was presented to the President by the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), led by Chairperson Jane Kiringai.
The Commission said it would take on board the President’s concerns.
The Second Policy will be used to share revenue from the Equalisation Fund for period ending 2021.
While the first Marginalisation Policy focused on the identification of marginalised counties, the second policy shifts focus to marginalised areas.
To identify the marginalised areas, the Commission used an index of deprivation constructed using information on access to safe water, school attendance, access to improved sanitation and electricity.
The President commended the Commission for producing a good report on how to distribute financial resources to provide services to the poorest communities in accordance to their own priorities through public participation.
The CRA team recommended a comprehensive framework for engaging the beneficiary communities in the implementation of projects in the identified priority areas.
