(Sitting from left)Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi, Speaker of the Senate Kenneth Lusaka and the Council of Governors Chair Martin Wambora.
By Rugendo Antony
Worth Noting:
- Mr Kiraitu said the delay to release funds to Counties is a setback in the implementation of development projects noting that this has been paralyzing most functions and services in the devolved units.
- Calling on the County leaders to take advantage of the upcoming elections to advocate for change toward bettering of the devolution Kiraitu said the crisis in the Counties due to lack of funds has painted a worrisome picture of the status of devolution.
- “The remainder of the year 2022 before elections requires that we as key actors in the devolution space make devolution the central question in this year’s elections,” Kiraitu said.
The Council of governors has blamed the executive and the National Treasury over the financial crisis faced by County governments noting that this has affected devolution.
Almost every financial year, counties cry about the late disbursement of funds that cripple services at the grassroots and affect the development agenda.
Speaking in Meru during the legal committee and County Attorneys quarterly meeting attended by the Senate, National Assembly, Council of Governors and County Attorneys representatives, Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi accused the president and the treasury of frustrating the devolution.
“Despite the Constitutional and legal promises of devolution and decentralization, no serious efforts have been made to restructure government and its processes to conform to the constitutional requirements of a devolved system, or to substantially increase the flow of resources to the counties. Devolution is still dependent on the political will of the executive. We are routinely frustrated and undermined by presidential directives, Treasury circulars and clerks in COB. This must change,” Mr Kiraitu said.
Kiraitu who is the Chairperson of Legal Affairs, constitutional and Intergovernmental committee in the Council of Governors said for devolution to succeed, disbursement of funds to counties needs to be fast-tracked.
The Chairperson of Legal Affairs, constitutional and Intergovernmental committee complained of the delay in disbursement of funds to counties.
Mr Kiraitu said the delay to release funds to Counties is a setback in the implementation of development projects noting that this has been paralyzing most functions and services in the devolved units.
Calling on the County leaders to take advantage of the upcoming elections to advocate for change toward bettering of the devolution Kiraitu said the crisis in the Counties due to lack of funds has painted a worrisome picture of the status of devolution.
“The remainder of the year 2022 before elections requires that we as key actors in the devolution space make devolution the central question in this year’s elections,” Kiraitu said.
The Meru governor asked the leaders to only back a presidential candidate who will advocate for additional funds to the Counties.
Meru County Assembly Speaker Joseph Kaberia blamed the National Treasury for delaying to release funds to the devolved units saying the delay has plunged the counties into financial crisis.
As counties continue to marvel at the transmutation of social economics, questions have been raised on the sustainability of devolution if the financial hiccups witnessed in the past few years are anything to go by.
The Treasury and CoG have been at loggerheads for a long time, with the two sides trading blame over the delays in releasing funds.
Governors have in the past accused the Treasury and National Government officials of deliberate misinformation on the delayed disbursement of funds.
In December 2019, CoG moved to court to challenge Treasury’s decision to block funding for 17 counties, which had not cleared their bills and had not submitted a structured plan for doing so.
In October 2020, they moved to court again to compel the Treasury to release 50 per cent of the equitable allocation.
Two years ago analysis of the County Governments Budget Implementation Review report in the first half of the 2019/20 financial year indicated that less development spending stifled investment, which denied the economy the impetus it needed to grow.
The disbursement schedule showed that by December 15 that year, counties ought to have received Sh140.53 billion. This amount translates to 44.4 per cent of the annual equitable share allocation of Sh316.5 billion. But the National Treasury had only disbursed Sh117.29 billion, accounting for 37.1 per cent of the annual equitable share of revenue.
During the period between July and December, county governments were unable to pay for drugs, water and electricity and run development projects over the stalemate between the national government and governors on sharing of revenue.
Due to the frustrations, last year in June the Council of Governors threatened to shut down the Counties citing frustration due to delay by the treasury to release funds to Counties.
The Council of Governors decried poor financing of the counties by the National Treasury revealing that it has failed to disburse the funds to the devolved units two weeks before the end of financial year.
During the legal committee and County Attorneys quarterly meeting that will proceed today Friday February 25, 2022 the forum is expected to set an agenda for devolution for the next five years, discuss challenges of the devolved units and the legal sector and resolutions.
The meeting is also expected to oversee an election for new officials of the County attorneys’ forum.
Among those who attended the meeting was Council of Governors Chair Martin Wambora, Speaker of the Senate Kenneth Lusaka and County Assemblies Forum Chair Ndegwa Wahome among others.
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