Meru Deputy Governor Titus Ntochiu has said the standoff between the Senate and the National Assembly over the 2019 Revenue Allocation Bill is hurting counties.
Ntochiu, who is also the county executive in charge of Finance said that revenue to devolved units should not be reduced but increased. He spoke to the press in his office on Tuesday.
"In 2017-18 when we took office, we were given Sh8.3 billion, but this was reduced by Sh300 million in 2018-19 to Sh8 billion. Now, in this financial year, they are reducing it further by Sh300 million to Sh.7.7 billion. We are not happy about this," he said.
He said according to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, every permanently employed worker's salary increases every year.
"We cannot cope with salary increases yet our allocation is continuously decreasing and still do development," he said.
He said in 2017-18 they drilled 100 boreholes but only managed to sink 50 in 2018-19 due to the reduction in allocation.
"We had planned to drill 200 boreholes in two years but the cut in allocation disrupted our plans. Meru Youth Service recruits who were to report on August 10 have not yet reported as we were forced to postpone due to the financial crisis," he said.
He said President Uhuru Kenyatta should solve the debacle between the senate and the National Assembly so that normalcy can be restored in the counties as the country is stagnating.
