This archive report was first published on 28 November 2019.
On November 28, 2019, the Treasury was at loggerheads with 15 counties that had failed to pay suppliers nearly Sh23 billion, despite receiving cash allocations every year since devolution began in 2013.
The proposal by the Building Bridges Initiative to allocate a third of national revenues to counties could improve service delivery, but comes with conditions to prevent poor financial management and embezzlement.
For such an allocation to be effective, county governments must account for what they have already been allocated, and those that return monies to the Treasury year after year must explain why.
Additionally, an increase in such allotment must be matched with more roles allocated to the counties, to ensure a balance in the use of cash between the national government and the counties.
Furthermore, counties should make an effort to raise money locally without unduly harassing business people.
