This archive report was first published on 7 August 2020.
As counties face a cash crunch, Governors have asked the Senate to adopt the old formula for sharing revenue. The Council of Governors (CoG) chairman, Wycliffe Oparanya, said that too much time has been wasted debating the third-generation formula on revenue-allocation.
Speaking in Nairobi, Oparanya accused senators of dragging their feet when it comes to passing the formula. He noted that the third-generation formula was supposed to have been passed one and a half years ago.
“The third-generation formula of county equitable share allocation was supposed to have been passed one and a half years ago,” Oparanya said.
He insisted that the old formula has served counties well and should be used to allocate money instead of looking for ways to reduce funds granted to various devolved units.
“Counties had already made their budgets. There is no way they will reduce the amounts allocated to different projects. In fact, we want more money,” Oparanya said.
CoG Chairman for Health, Isiolo Governor Mohamed Kuti, also called on the government to resolve the cycle of financial uncertainty that hits counties around July and August of every year.
“This is the time workers go on strike because they are not paid since Treasury fails to release funds,” Kuti said.
Published on August 7, 2020, the call by the Governors comes as Kenyans discuss the rationale of allocating functions to counties while retaining money at the national level.
