• Counties are yet to get their share of revenue three months into the current financial year.
• Governors have over time lamented difficulties in sustaining operations in the face of the cash crisis.
Image: COG
The National Assembly has approved Sh369.9 billion for county governments this financial year.
The allocation approved by Budget and Appropriations Committee comprises of Sh316.5 billion in Equitable Share of revenue and Sh13.7 in conditional grants from the national government; Sh9.4 billion road maintenance and fuel levy; and Sh30.2 billion in loans and grants.
Lawmakers, when passing the County Revenue Allocation Bill, 2020 castigated the Senate for taking long to pass legislation unlocking cash to counties.
The Revenue Allocation Bill was published in April but was approved by the Senate last month, staging a freeze on the monies meant for the counties.
MPs fast-paced the legislation on Tuesday, positioning the devolved units to access Sh60 billion already provided by the Treasury once President Uhuru Kenyatta assents to the revenue bill.
Budget committee chairman Kanini Kega (Kieni MP), however, raised concerns of the challenges in utilising cash meant for Nairobi county whose functions were transferred to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.
“There are legislative gaps. There is no clear mechanism on how the funds will be transferred from the County Revenue Fund to the Consolidated Fund for use by the national government,” Kega said.
Kitui Cental MP Makali Mulu said the question needs to be answered, asking financial experts to look into the matter to avert implementation challenges.
Mulu said there was need to monitor the resource, noting that there was a gap on how the monies are being used.
“The Bill says money should be transferred within seven days of approval. With the delays we have experienced, it is important to pass the bill so that county governments can get their monies. They are suffering,” Mulu said.
The Budget committee said the delay was unnecessary as the revenue share is the same as that for the last financial year.
Majority leader Amos Kimunya and his Minority counterpart said the delay was regrettable and a sign of failure in leadership.
“It is sad that we are giving counties money three months into the financial year. How can one survive for three months without a salary? We are exposing our counties to total failure,” Mbadi said.
Of the Government of Kenya grants, Sh6.2 billion will go the controversial MES, Sh4.3 billion to Level 5 hospitals, Sh2 billion to youth polytechnics, compensation of user foregone fees takes Sh900 million, and Sh300 million for construction of headquarters.
The committee thus concluded there was an urgent need to make provisions for how to handle delay passage of any of the revenue bills to enable smooth flow of resources.
The Kega-led team further proposed the establishment of an ad hoc committee to remap conditional grants to the counties.
“The allocation criterion for conditional grants is not clear. Historical trends can never be the basis of the allocation of resources,” the committee report reads.
MPs also want a comprehensive audit of all donor funds expended at the subnational level and report tabled before next year’s revenue bill is adopted.
The allocation is based on a projected revenue of Sh1.85 trillion of which the national government share is Sh1.54 trillion.
County assemblies will spend up to Sh33.2 billion in recurrent expenditure while the executive’s recurrent spending cap stands at Sh26.7 billion.
Edited by EKibii