This archive report was first published on 25 July 2019.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has dealt a blow to the Council of Governors' push for more allocation of resources to the counties by the government.
Speaking at Kirwara Boys High School in Gatanga during the burial of former area MP Peter Kenneth's mother Rahab Wambui, the President said he will not give governors a shilling more.
“You can’t eat what you haven’t sowed. We want our counties to work but if you go and ask money that is not available, where will it come from?” the President posed.
He added, “We have given them what we have and what we know we can find.”
Mr. Kenyatta also asked anyone campaigning to give counties more money to do that on their own, saying, “If National Assembly or the Senate want them to get more money, OK, take a pay cut and give to the counties, I don’t have money.”
The President's statement comes after governors accused the National Treasury of ignoring the Commission of Revenue Allocation’s recommendations on the sharing of revenue between the national government and the devolved units.
Last week, governors filed an application seeking an advisory from the Supreme Court on failure by Parliament to pass the Division of Revenue Bill, which they said has starved counties of funds.
However, Chief Justice David Maraga was reluctant to hear the application, asking the parties to dialogue to help unlock the stalemate.
The bill collapsed following disagreements between the National Assembly and the Senate, with the National Assembly wanting counties allocated Sh310 billion while the Senate insisted on Sh335 billion.
On Wednesday, the Senate passed their version and settled on Ksh.335 billion as the equitable shareable revenue for counties in the 2019/20 financial year.
