Pending bills and late disbursement of cash to counties will be the focus when Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua chairs the meeting of a top devolution organ next week.
He will chair the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council for the first time after the August 9 election.
The meeting will be attended by, among others, Council of Governors chairperson Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga) and Treasury CS Ukur Yatani.
Others are Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o and Commission on Revenue Allocation chairperson Jane Kiringai.
“We are having an IBEC meeting next week,” Nyakang’o said.
In the previous administration, many members of the council, including Treasury CS, skipped the meeting chaired by then Deputy President William Ruto.
This was at the height of a bitter fallout between Ruto and his boss, Uhuru Kenyatta.
However, during the governors' induction in Mombasa last month, Rigathi promised that the IBEC meetings will be regular.
Its resolutions will be promptly implemented by the relevant state agencies, the DP assured.
The Star established that the pending bills menace and the perennial late disbursement of cash to counties by the National Treasury will be at the centre of the discussion.
The new county administrations inherited in excess of Sh100 billion in pending bills, threatening the existence of many companies, including start-ups.
Most new governors have appointed committees to verify the bills.
Previous audits by the Auditor General have shown that the huge bulk of the bills are ineligible as they cannot be authenticated.
On Tuesday, Nyakang’o disclosed that the IBEC meeting will discuss standardised means of verifying the pending bills and give direction on their payment.
“Many of them [governors] have decided to have them [bills] verified which, in a way, is not exactly okay,” the CoB boss said.
“It is a noble initiative, but the problem is that there is no standardised method of verifying authentic pending bills.”
The IBEC will also discuss how the new county administrations can realign their budgets to their manifestos.
Some governors have hinted at introducing supplementary budgets in the county assemblies to achieve their pledges.
The meeting will also discuss and agree on a deal to end what governors termed erratic disbursements to the devolved units.
In the previous administration, the CoG and the Treasury were constantly at loggerheads over the unreliable release of cash.
The problem appears to have spilled over into the new administration after revelations that up to 27 counties have not received cash since August.
They include Baringo, Bungoma, Busia, Homa Bay, Kajiado, Kakamega, Kiambu, Kilifi, Kisumu, Kitui and Kwale.
Others are Machakos, Makueni, Mandera, Marsabit, Meru, Meru, Migori, Murang’a, Nairobi, Nakuru, Narok, Siaya, Turkana, Uasin Gishu, Wajir and West Pokot.
A cash disbursement status report obtained by the Star shows that 20 counties received Sh9.28 billion for the month of August.
The counties that received the cash were Baringo which got Sh535.28 million, Elgeyo Marakwet Sh368.52 million, and Embu Sh410.01 million.
Isiolo got 376.83 million, Kericho Sh514.44 million, Kirinyaga Sh415.69 million and Kisii Sh711.54 million.
Others are Laikipia (Sh410.90 million), Lamu (Sh248.45 million), Mombasa (Sh605.38 million), Nandi (Sh559.26 million), Nyamira (Sh410.82 million), Nyandarua (Sh453.63 million) and Nyeri (Sh498.29 million).
Also in the list are Samburu (Sh429.70 million), Taita Taveta (Sh387.37 million), Tharaka Nithi (Sh337.13 million), Vihiga (Sh405.38 million) and Trans Nzoia (Sh574.89 million).