Governors have dismissed claims they have money idling in accounts at the Central Bank yet counties are starved of cash.
The National Treasury in a statement had asked the counties to spend the Sh34.6 billion lying idle in the CBK vaults.
The governors dismissed the remark as false.
In a statement on Friday, Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega) said the money Treasury CS Ukur Yatani referred to is already committed to projects.
“The balances that the Cabinet Secretary referred to in his statement are monies already committed for ongoing or unfinished projects within the counties that are at different stages of completion,” the CoG said.
Oparanya said once the projects are completed, all the Sh34.6 billion will be paid out.
“For avoidance of doubt, we urge the National Treasury to expedite the release of the equitable share owed to county governments by the 15th of every month as the law clearly stipulates,” he added.
Governors say counties need to pay salaries and provide services, and have threatened a shutdown of county operations.
The balances that the Cabinet Secretary referred to in his statement are monies already committed for ongoing or unfinished projects within the counties that are at different stages of completion
Yatani, in a statement on Thursday, said the Sh34 billion was part of the Sh133 billion released to counties for the financial year to June.
He said this comprised Sh120 billion in equitable share and Sh13 billion as conditional grants – for health services.
“We appeal to them to make full use of these funds in the meantime as further disbursements from the Exchequer are made in due course,” Yatani’s statement read.
But governors said the total amount of equitable share transferred to the counties for 2020-21 is Sh93.9 billion.
The amount, they said, does not cover the entire money owed for October, November, December and January.
Oparanya said some counties are owed disbursements for September and October.
“The total outstanding amount for all the 47 counties amounts to Sh89.6 billion.”
County governments, the governors said, will still have to wait for their allocation for November and December, 2020, and now January, 2021.
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya
