Governors move to Supreme Court over Division of Revenue Bill

Governors have accused the National Treasury and the National Assembly of holding counties hostage.

The county chiefs said the National Treasury has continuously been ignoring the Commission of Revenue Allocation's recommendations on the sharing of revenue between the national government and the developed units.

The governors spoke outside the Supreme Court after lodging a case seeking the apex court's intervention in unlocking the current impasse on the Division of Revenue Bill 2019.

CoG chair Wycliffe Oparanya said that the county governments have witnessed an onslaught on devolution saying that it was being undermined through formulation and enactment of centralist policy and laws.

Oparanya said the council has sought judicial intervention to declare some of the laws unconstitutional since it weakened devolution.

“In this second term, devolved governance is being attacked by denying county government their resources. The National Treasury continues to hold counties hostage by always deviating from the Commission of Revenue Allocations recommendation by constantly denying disbursement of funds to counties,” Oparanya noted.

The CoG chair said that devolution was voted for by Kenyans so that resources could find their way to the lowest levels to transform livelihoods through better services.

Earlier; governors, county speakers and MCAs convened at the Hotel Intercontinental and held a procession to the apex court.

The CoG is set to submit written submissions to the court within three days.

The case will be mentioned before the Supreme Court on July 19.

On Sunday, Deputy President William Ruto said governors should not go to court over the division of funds stalemate.

The National Assembly wants all 47 counties to be given Sh316 billion while senators want counties to be given Sh327 billion.

Last week, the National Assembly and Senate failed to strike a deal as representatives of both Houses maintained hard-line positions.

The counties' backed call for more money, the assembly backs the Treasury and national government.

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