Mandera Governor Ali Roba on Tuesday urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to end the stalemate over devolved funds.
MPs want the counties to be given Sh316 billion, up from the Sh310 billion they had approved. But senators want the devolved units to be given Sh327 billion.
The Council of Governors on Monday went to court to seek legal redress. They want the Supreme Court to declare whether MPs can deviate from recommendations by the Commission on Revenue Allocation on the shareable revenue.
Roba said the best legacy Uhuru can leave behind is protecting devolution. He spoke in Mandera town when he launched county ambulances and the renal unit at the Mandera County Referral Hospital.
“I want to urge the President to stand with mwananchi. He should not be misguided or misled by a few individuals whose only intention is to demonise devolution," Roba said.
Roba wondered why it has become a big issue to have the counties added Sh11 billion, saying it should have been the wisdom of the national government to increase the allocation to five to 10 per cent. He said all they had requested was four per cent.
“As counties, we have tonnes of services that we offer. They range from healthcare, ECDE, agriculture, roads, water and many other services that run the lifeline of the population,” he said.
Roba said before the advent of devolution money was not reaching the grassroots.
Mandera assembly speaker Aden Khalif accused MPs of "taking the issue personal", saying their sole purpose is to complete ground service in the counties.
“I hope reason prevails sooner rather than later. This push and pull is not helping matters at all. It is shameful and disgusting to say the least,” he said.
