At least Sh66.33 billion is yet to be disbursed to the counties as they enter their third month on Tuesday without cash.
The Star has established he counties are facing acute financial crunch as the cash flow challenges persist in government.
Seven counties are yet to receive Sh5.28 billion for the month of August alone.
According to information obtained by the Council of Governors’ Health Committee, the counties are Baringo, Kilifi, Migori, Nakuru, Turkana, Uasin Gishu, and West Pokot.
None of the 47 counties has received Exchequer disbursements for September and October, and are set to enter November with empty coffers.
The counties are owed Sh31.45 billion and Sh29.6 billion for September and October respectively.
Last week, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o disclosed that some counties last received their disbursement in September, which was the allocation for August.
“So far, we have not seen anything [from the Treasury]. The last disbursement was for August,” Nyakang’o said.
The late release of funds has been at the centre of a frequent dispute between the CoG and the Treasury.
Governors say the late releases are affecting their operations and delivery of crucial services such as health.
“It is unfortunate that the third generation of counties has started on a bleak note due to lack of resources,” CoG chairperson Anne Waiguru said early this month.
“We wish to inform the Kenyans that the Constitution and PFM Act requires the Treasury to disburse the funds on the 15th day of every month without delay,” she said.
“The delays and unpredictable disbursements are a recipe for the accruing pending bills and negatively impact service delivery,” she said.
But the Treasury has often blamed financial cash flow challenges on underperforming revenues.
The governors warned that several casuals at the counties risk not earning their pending salaries for subsequent months as they are not on the payrolls as required.
Nearly all the counties rely entirely on the Exchequer disbursements because of their meager own source collections that cannot sustain their operations.
Nyakang’o said while the counties are in a financial hole, the outcry from governors has been that most of them, especially the new ones, are yet to initiate development projects.
“The requisitions we get are mainly for payment of salaries. So, the little amount they still have in their accounts and the little they collect, have kept them going,” she said.
