Governors Threaten To Shut Counties In Two Weeks Over Delayed Funds
Council of Governors chairperson and Kirinyaga County Governor Anne Waiguru reading a statement while flanked by her colleagues yesterday.
By Wangechi Thuo and William Muchiri
Worth Noting:
- “The four-month delay is unprecedented in the history of devolution and negates the spirit of the meeting held in Naivasha between His Excellency The President and the Governors,” Waiguru said who was flanked by her colleagues.
- Through the Council of Governors, the county chiefs lamented the delayed disbursement of funds by the National Treasury has crippled operations and delivery of critical services to the residents.
- The council Vice-Chairman Ahmed Abdullahi said some counties like Nairobi had not received their share of revenue for up to six months.
Governors have threatened to shut down counties in the next two weeks over the lack of funds from the national government to run their operations.
Council of Governors Chairperson Anne Waiguru, who is the Governor of Kirinyaga County said the delay has put devolution under serious threat because most counties have not even paid salaries for months.
“We, therefore, call upon the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury to immediately release the Sh94.35 billion owed to County Governments without any further delay. By dint of this, the Council of Governors hereby issues a 14-day notice to shut down Counties if February, March, and April arrears are not released within two weeks,” she told a news conference yesterday.
Most counties have announced stalled operations, with workers threatening to go on strike.
“The four-month delay is unprecedented in the history of devolution and negates the spirit of the meeting held in Naivasha between His Excellency The President and the Governors,” Waiguru said who was flanked by her colleagues.
Through the Council of Governors, the county chiefs lamented the delayed disbursement of funds by the National Treasury has crippled operations and delivery of critical services to the residents.
The council Vice-Chairman Ahmed Abdullahi said some counties like Nairobi had not received their share of revenue for up to six months.
“We are informing Kenyans that we have absolutely no option but to ask workers to go home until such a time when counties are funded,” Abdullahi noted.
County bosses presented presented gloomy faces, a sign that all is not well in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
Sources told this publication that most of the governors have exhausted their overdraft privileges and were worried that if nothing is done within the next few days, things will get out of hand.
The consequences include workers going on strike and contractors plus supplies moving to court over nonpayment of work, supply of goods, or services undertaken.
Early this month, the government through President William Ruto, his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua and other senior officials made public the financial crisis they are facing after it emerged that its coffers were empty and couldn’t even pay salaries to its nearly 700,000 public servants.
The government is on record saying they will not incur more debts to settle some of its obligations like settling salaries but will instead rely on taxes paid by citizens.
Since coming to power last September, the Presidency has been accusing the former Jubilee regime of running down the government and leaving nothing for the tenants in the highest political seat in the country.
Similar Posts by The Mt Kenya Times:
- Diaspora Times Global June 27 – July 1, 2026
- Trump turns Big Tech into a trade weapon — and Europe is in the crosshairs
- Stanbic Foundation and Microsoft take AI training to Kenya’s counties as digital skills gap narrows
- Push to honour forgotten freedom fighters and nation builders gains momentum
- Murugara pledges to emulate Njuki’s cultural agenda as leaders praise governor’s support for heritage
About the Author
