This archive report was first published on 10 December 2019.
December 10, 2019 - The Council of Governors has expressed concern over the delay in the disbursement of monthly county funds, which has left counties struggling to provide basic services.
According to the Council, all 47 County Governments have not received their November monthly disbursement of Kshs. 31.6 billion, which was due on 15th November 2019.
Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya argued that withholding development funds by the National Treasury creates a crisis in service delivery by the County Governments, as development is pegged on available resources.
"We note that all the 47 County Governments have not received their November monthly disbursement of Kshs. 31.6 billion which was due on 15th November 2019. This has greatly affected the operations of County Governments in the provision of basic services at mashinani," said Oparanya.
The Council also lamented about counties that are not receiving funds because of their pending bills, saying that the isolation of these counties from the disbursement of funds negates the spirit and letter of devolution.
Counties Blocked from Receiving Funds ¶
The Council defended the isolated counties, saying that every county has progressively made deliberate efforts to settle pending bills, including those inherited from local authorities.
"The method used by National Treasury to categorize County Governments did not take into account the issue of historical debts and only concentrated on payment of pending bills between 1st July and 31st October 2019," the statement reads.
