The details have emerged at a time when leaders have been tearing into each other over resource allocation to the regions.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua triggered the storm with the call for a revenue-sharing formula largely pegged on population, popularly known as one man, one vote, one shilling.
In the allocation contained in the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, 2024, the Mt Kenya region of 10 counties, will get the highest amount in the 2024-25 financial year.
The 10 counties will get a combined allocation of Sh78.97 billion.
They are Nakuru, Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri, Laikipia, Kirinyaga, Nyandarua, Tharaka Nithi, Meru and Embu.
Nakuru, Kiambu and Meru have been given the biggest allocations of Sh14.13 billion, 12.71 billion and Sh10.27 billion, respectively.
Others are Murang’a (Sh7.75 billion), Nyeri (Sh6.72 billion), Nyandarua (Sh6.13 billion), Kirinyaga (Sh5.63 billion), Laikipia (Sh5.56 billion), Embu (Sh5.54 billion) and Tharaka Nithi (Sh4.53 billion).
The revelations are a slap in the face for Gachagua and other leaders who have claimed the region has been getting a raw deal in the sharing of the national cake.
“In matters of revenue sharing, and for the avoidance of doubt I am a believer and a proponent of ‘one man, one vote, one shilling,’ resources are about people,” Gachagua said last month
In the allocation, counties in the marginalised Northern region will get the second highest allocation in the Bill.
The seven counties from the region – Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Samburu and Turkana – have been allocated Sh63.16 billion.
Turkana, Mandera and Wajir will get the highest allocation of Sh13.65 billion, Sh12.05 billion and Sh10.21 billion respectively.
Garissa, Marsabit, Samburu and Isiolo have been allocated Sh8.55 billion, Sh7.83 billion, Sh5.80 billion and Sh5.07 billion, respectively.
Leaders from the region have opposed the one man, one coin mantra, and instead, pushed for the one coin one-kilometre formula that puts more weight on land mass in a region of large areas and relatively small populations.
“The slogan ‘one man, one shilling, one vote,’ championed by some leaders, is a fundamentally flawed stance that underscores a deep-seated greed that seems insatiable," Mandera Senator Ali Roba said in a scathing attack on Gachagua’s call.
“Rigathi needs to understand that Kenya is defined by its people and its geographical boundaries equally. The leaders from Mt Kenya might boast about their population, but the ASAL regions comprise more than 80 per cent of the land mass in Kenya.”
The region’s leaders are jittery about the call for one man one shilling formula that would disadvantage the area.
However, Nairobi is the individual county that will get the highest amount [of the Sh400 billion allocation] at Sh20.85 billion.
Rift Valley, with seven counties, will receive Sh49.29 billion.
The counties are Uasin Gishu, Bomet, Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kericho, Baringo and West Pokot.
Uasin Gishu will get Sh8.76 billion, Bomet Sh7.25 billion, Nandi Sh7.60 billion, Kericho Sh6.96 billion, Baringo Sh6.91 billion, West Pokot Sh6.83 billion and Elgeyo Marakwet Sh4.98 billion.
Nyanza, Western and Coast come next.
The six counties of Nyanza have been allocated Sh48.43 billion, five counties of Western will get Sh45.95 billion while the six coastal counties will get a combined allocation of Sh45.19 billion.
In Nyanza, Kisii will get Sh9.60 billion, Kisumu Sh8.68 billion, Migori Sh8.66 billion, Homa Bay Sh8.43 billion, Siaya Sh7.54 billion and Nyamira Sh5.52 billion.
In Western, Kakamega has been allocated Sh13.41 billion followed by Bungoma with Sh11.54 billion.
Trans Nzoia, Busia and Vihiga have been allocated Sh7.79 billion, 7.76 billion and Sh5.45 billion, respectively.
At the Coast, Kilifi will get the highest allocation of Sh12.55 billion followed by Kwale with Sh8.88 billion, Mombasa with Sh8.14 billion, Tana River with Sh7.04 billion, Taita Taveta with Sh5.22 billion and Lamu with Sh3.36 billion.
"We have an obligation to protect devolution. The biggest soft under-belly and lethargy is continuous plundering and corruption in our devolved units," Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei said.
Surprisingly, Opposition Chief Raila Odinga, who politically controls the three regions, last week threw his weight behind the one-man one-shilling formula.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. It is not a question of discrimination. We want to ensure that every Kenyan gets a fair share of resources,” Raila said.
“This is what it is. It cannot be right that some children should get more money as bursaries than other children in other parts of the country," he added.
In the latest allocation, Kajiado and Narok, which have been classified independently in this analysis, have been allocated Sh8.62 billion and Sh9.56 billion, respectively.
Parliament allocated the counties Sh400.11 billion following mediation.
The Senate and the National Assembly had initially clashed on the amount.
While the National Assembly wanted the counties given Sh391 billion, the Senate pushed for Sh415 billion.
The allocation is based on the current revenue-sharing. The method provides for an eight-parameter formula.
“Once you net out one-half of the amount of allocation ratio or Sh158.25 billion from the equitable share of Sh400.11 billion, the resulting balance of Sh241.86 billion shall be allocated among county governments using the formula,” the Bill states.
The formula places the biggest weight on basic share (20 per cent), population (18 per cent), health (17 per cent), poverty level (14 per cent) and agriculture (10 per cent).
Other parameters are weighted at land size (eight per cent), roads (eight per cent) and urban area (five per cent).
The current formula, which ends in the next financial year, was developed and approved in 2020 after months of war between senators.
It took the intervention of the former regime to increase allocation by Sh53 billion to broker the deal.
The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) is currently collecting views from stakeholders to inform the new formula, which will be used from the 2025-26 financial year.
Article 217 of the Constitution stipulates that the revenue-sharing formula be reviewed every five years.
