This archive report was first published on 24 June 2020.
On June 24, 2020, the Council of Governors (CoG) urged the National Treasury to release Kshs. 59 billion for the counties, citing the equitable sharable revenue for the month of May and June that year.
CoG chairman Wycliffe Oparanya noted that the funds were part of the equitable sharable revenue for the month of May and June, and that all 47 County Governments had finalized their budgeting process for the Financial Year 2020/21.
‘We also urge the National Government to release a further Kshs. 4.6 billion under the devolution support programme by the World Bank as these funds will be used to fight Covid-19,’ Oparanya said.
He added that the County Assembly in Kakamega had already approved the budget, and urged other County Assemblies to expedite the approval of the budgets so that Counties could continue responding effectively to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the Governor regretted that Counties had encountered some challenges in their bid to combat Covid-19, including the procurement of reagents and timely release of results, which limited the testing capacity in the Country.
He asked the Ministry of Health to avail testing reagents and sample collection kits, and fast-track engagements with the border countries to agree on the testing protocols to avoid difference in test results.
At the time, 10 counties had met the 300 bed capacity in their isolation centers as directed by President Uhuru Kenyatta, while the remaining counties were working towards achieving the 300 bed capacity in line with the last Summit’s agreement.
