Kiambu County has managed to raised Sh517 million in own-source revenue during the first quarter for the financial year 2023-2024. This is Sh261 million more compared to the previous fiscal year of 2022-2023 in which the devolved unit raised Sh301 million. According to the County Government Budget Implementation Review Report from the Controller of Budget, Kiambu County has so far generated in this financial year a total of Sh830.53 million from its Own Source Revenue (OSR) which includes Facility Improvement Fund (FIF) and Appropriations in Aid (AIA). The CoB report shows that revenue streams which contributed the OSR came from liquor licenses, Sh62.23 million, Public Health Services, Sh30.43 million, Public Health Operations, Sh313.12 million, Technical Service Fee Sh170.12 million, Vehicle Parking Fee Sh79.31 million and other sources at Sh175.32 million. 'The highest revenue stream was Sh313.12 million the public health facilities, contributing to 38 percent of the total OSR receipts during the report ing period,' Dr Nyakang'o said in the report. The total funds available for budget implementation for Kiambu County during the period thus amount to Sh4.43 billion. At the same time, the report further says at the beginning of FY 2023-2024, the County reported a stock of pending bills amounting to Sh5.79 billion, comprising Sh3.48 billion for recurrent expenditure and Sh2.31 billion for development activities. The pending bills in the first quarter amounting to Sh168.74 million were settled, consisting of Sh94.64 million for recurrent expenditure and Sh74.10 million for development programmes. As of 30 September 2023, the outstanding amount was Sh5.62 billion. Additionally, the Controller of Budget in the report mentioned some of the challenges that hampered the implementation of the Budget namely underperformance, high level of pending bills, use of manual payroll and failure to budget cash balance brought forward. 'The county has some challenges like the underperformance of own-source revenue at Sh830. 53 million against an annual projection of Sh7.98 billion, representing 10.4 percent of the annual target,' she said in the report. The Controller of Budget further stated that the County failed to budget for the cash balance brought forward from FY 2022/23 of Sh2.55 billion in the approved estimates for FY 2023/2024. As for the manual payroll, Dr Nyakang'o explained that this is prone to abuse and may lead to the loss of public funds where there is a lack of proper controls. She urged Kiambu County to address its own source revenue performance to ensure the approved budget is fully financed. 'Let the county leadership address the pending bills situation to ensure genuine bills are paid promptly in the remaining financial year,' she said. Source: Kenya News Agency Tunisia will make its first appearance at the industrial technology fair "Hannover Messe 2024" with a delegation of 10 SMEs and start-ups specialising in the development and technologies of Industry 4.0. The event is scheduled to take place in Germany from April 22 to 26, 2024. At a press conference held on Thursday in Tunis, Nada Lachaal, director general of industrial and technological infrastructure at the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines, said this participation is part of the "Towards an Industry 4.0 in Tunisia" initiative, supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), in coordination with the Tunisian Embassy in Germany. Lachaal said an official delegation will be present, led by Ahlem Béji, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Industry. It will include key stakeholders from the innovation and Industry 4.0 ecosystem. She also stressed that a Tunisian pavilion, with an area of about 100m3, will be located in th e digital ecosystem section under the theme "Industry 4.0". Nada Lachaal specified that the pavilion aims to promote Tunisian industry and Tunisia as a favourable destination for industrial investment, and to promote international industrial or strategic partnerships with companies and organisations participating in the exhibition. This participation aims to encourage Tunisian companies to embrace the Industry 4.0 initiative, take note of the latest technologies presented at the event, and promote the Tunisian innovation and Industry 4.0 ecosystem among German and European companies and organisations. With more than 4,000 exhibitors, 300 start-ups, 14,000 products and solutions and 130,000 visitors expected, the event will be marked by the emergence of new technologies related to Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, carbon-neutral production, energy and green hydrogen. Since 2019, Tunisia has participated as a visitor in this exhibition with a delegation of business leaders, industrial SMEs and start-up s. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
