Governors turn to senators for help in Sh20bn dispute
Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa appears before the Senate Finance and Budget Committee at the County Hall Nairobi on September 5, 2024.
Governors are seeking senators’ support amid a biting cash crunch in the devolved units due to delayed disbursements. This follows the ongoing discussion on the legislation to anchor fresh disbursements to the counties.
The National Assembly has already proposed deductions on devolved units’ allocations which, if approved, will cause more strain on counties' resources and operations in the current Financial Year.
The Council of Governors (CoG) has rejected a proposal to slash counties' equitable share from Sh400 billion to Sh380 billion proposed by the National Assembly.
Governors insist that counties have already come up with measures aimed at fiscal consolidation to align with the aspirations of the people and appealed to members of the senate to support their efforts to get Sh400 billion allocated to them without any reduction.
CoG Finance Committee Chairman Fernandes Barasa has asked senators to stand firm on their position during the mediation process for the 2024 Division of Revenue Bill.
"Let our senators remain firm and advocate for counties to receive Sh400 billion and not the Sh380 billion proposed by the National Assembly," said Mr Barasa
The Kakamega governor warned that reducing the counties’ allocation from Sh400.117 billion allocated under the Division of Revenue Allocation, 2024 to Sh380 billion as proposed by the National Assembly will paralyse operations in counties and the provision of critical services.
In the last Financial Year, the 47 counties received Sh385.4 billion.
The governors argue that the funds were inadequate given that the Senate had initially allocated Sh415.9 billion which was reduced through a mediation process involving Parliament and Senate after the counties had proposed Sh439.5 billion.
"The country's budgeting system is currently incremental and counties can, at no time, be allocated lower than the previous year's. The Constitution provides that counties equitable share shall be allocated in a stable and predictable manner, and on this basis counties allocation is protected from revenue shortfalls," he said.
Mr Barasa said that counties were struggling to complete development projects.
He urged National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to expedite the release of county funds for August, September, and October, noting that the delay had affected service delivery across the devolved units.
The Commission for Revenue Allocation (CRA) has also supported the CoG, warning of a possible compromise of service delivery should the allocation to counties be reduced.
The CRA wants CoG to maintain Sh400.1 billion for the Financial Year 2024/25 allocation due to the growth of Sh379.12 billion in projected ordinary revenue.
