The governors lamented a delay in terms of releasing the funds by the Treasury.
The Council of Governors (COG) has announced its intention to shut down operations in all counties if the National Treasury does not immediately release outstanding funds owed to the devolved units.
In a press statement to newsrooms on Monday, November 18, the governors lamented a delay in terms of releasing the funds by the Treasury.
According to their remarks, the National Treasury is yet to disburse Ksh63.6 billion for October and November 2024 allocations, with counties receiving up to 50 per cent of the Equitable Share based on the allocations for the Financial Year (FY) 2023/24.
“However, by December 2024, the 50% will have been exhausted which means Counties will not receive any disbursement from January 2025,” the CoG warned of a crisis to hit all counties in the new year.
Council of Governors chairperson, Ahmed Abdullahi during a meeting on November 18, 2024. /COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS
The governors also pointed fingers at the Controller of Budget in terms of delays in approving requisitions for the withdrawal of funds.
“This is unacceptable to an institution that is supposed to be facilitative. We call upon the Controller of Budget to stop being a bottleneck to this process and ensure Counties access their funds in a timely manner,” added the statement.
The governors further lamented the sluggishness in terms of the assenting of the County Allocation of Revenue Act into law, more than five months into the current financial year, which would have resolved the delay in the disbursement of funds. This is despite the Bill being passed by both houses of Parliament.
They stated that due to these protracted deliberations, County Governments continue to bear the brunt as they are yet to receive their Equitable Allocation for the current Financial Year, adding that the National Government continues to receive its shareable revenue as the National Assembly passed the Supplementary Appropriations Act 2024.
“The Council takes great exception to the National Assembly’s decision to reduce the County Equitable Share by Ksh20 Billion. Any reduction to County Equitable Share will negatively affect service delivery and grind the Counties to a halt considering that the allocated amount of Ksh400.117 billion is based on historical audited accounts,” added the statement.
The governors however held that the Supplementary Appropriations Act 2024 based on the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill is un-procedural and unconstitutional because it is not based on the Division of Revenue Act 2024.
They added that the Act is based on figures contained in a Bill that is currently before the mediation committee of Parliament and that it goes against a Supreme Court Advisory which stipulated that Parliament cannot pass an appropriation Bill before the finalization of the Division of Revenue Bill.
The county bosses argued that such actions are not only an affront to Devolution but an overt attempt to weaken and undermine the devolved governance structure enshrined in the Constitution. “The Council has thus resolved to take precipitate action if the said impasse continues to subsist,” the CoG resolved.
The governors thus tasked the Senate to expeditiously pass the County Allocation of Revenue Act to resolve this delay.
“Additionally, we demand that the National Treasury immediately releases the funds owed to Counties, failure to which, County Governments will have no choice but to shut down operations completely,” warned the CoG.
