As counties struggle to pay their workers because of delayed disbursement of funds by Treasury, Mombasa is using its improved own source revenue to offset bills, including salaries.
Despite not receiving their allocation for the fifth month in April, Mombasa county staff have been paid all their salaries except for March.
“I'm only owed the March salary. At least we are trying in Mombasa, unlike my colleagues in other counties,” one of the workers who requested anonymity said.
County director of communications Diana Ngao said the last disbursement they received from the exchequer was for December, which was paid in March.
“We are trying as much as possible to keep the county moving and that is why we are very serious about our own-source revenue,” Ngao said on the phone Tuesday.
On Monday, Governor Abdulswamad Nassir and Jomvu MP Badi Twalib urged Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi to help ensure that county governments get their revenue allocation in time.
Mudavadi was in Mombasa for a two-day tour and had an iftar dinner on Sunday at Burhani Sports Ground, which was organised by EALA MP Hassan Omar. On Monday, he paid a courtesy call to Nassir in his office.
“We are here but most of the people in this place have not been paid for months. Help counties get their allocation in time please,” Twalib said.
He said Muslims need to buy new clothes for Eid celebrations on Friday but have no money to do so.
The Jomvu MP said Kenya should have her priorities right and county staff and civil servants should be prioritised.
Governor Nassir said he is focused on ensuring that devolution works for Mombasa and the country at large.
He said despite the challenges of delayed county allocation, Mombasa’s success story comes from their enhanced own-source revenue collection.
Nassir said Mombasa’s own-source revenue has enabled the county to pay some of its debts to suppliers and stay afloat.
“I need to ensure that the people of Mombasa grow. They are all looking up to me to see when they get bread and butter at home,” the governor said.
Mombasa collected Sh1.6 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2023, a five per cent improvement from the same period last year.
The revenue department collected Sh270,132,327 in January, Sh510,261,367 in February and Sh792,863,010 in March.
Last year, the county collected Sh498,998,855 in January, Sh479,635,817 in February and Sh515,926,400 in March, which totalled to Sh1,494,561,072.
Nassir said they are still in discussions with the national government on how to mitigate the challenges of a constant cash crunch.
“I’m confident that with the support that we have been receiving, within a period of one year from today there will be tremendous changes in terms of us being able to run our own programmes,” he said.
Ngao said, however, there are national government agencies in Mombasa that are derailing the county’s efforts to stay afloat.
She told the Star some of them are refusing to pay their land rates and other fees.
“They are crippling our efforts to grow our own-source revenue. They should comply with our requirements,” Ngao said on the phone.
The same agencies, she said, keep on knocking on county doors seeking to have the county pay their bills.
“How can we pay our taxes to KRA and electricity bills to KP if they don’t want to pay their land rates? Where do they expect us to get the money from to pay them, yet they know disbursement from the exchequer delays?” Ngao posed.
Mudavadi said Mombasa’s story is encouraging and urged other counties to emulate the county.
“We want to give you all the necessary support,” he said.
Mudavadi said the Kenya Kwanza administration believes in devolution, which has made a big difference in the country.
“As a national government, we cannot go backwards on the aspect of devolution,” he said.
Mudavadi said the delay in remittances to county governments has been one of the problems they are working hard to solve.
He said with President William Ruto’s vision, they will soon smoothen and accelerate the process of releasing resources to counties.
“So that the delays you experience will in due course become a thing of the past,” Mudavadi said.
He praised Governor Nassir for his ability to “moderate very seriously, the political temperatures in the country”.
“You have done it so well bearing in mind that Mombasa is a gateway to the country and to the entire region. Any disruption in Mombasa has very significant impact not just on the Kenyan economy but also on the region,” Mudavadi said.
The Prime CS said to bring the cost of living down, Kenya must grow her export earnings, including tourism.
“To do that we need a peaceful environment which can allow us to attract what needs to be attracted,” Mudavadi said.
