Africa-Press – Kenya. Governors have warned that counties will not deliver as expected if the national government does not increase budgetary allocation to counties in the next financial year.
In submissions to Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Budget, governors said the proposed allocation of Sh385 billion as an equitable share of revenue was a big concern for them.
“We wish to state that County Governments will face major challenges in the performance of the functions assigned to them under the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution and delivery of services to citizens in the Financial Year 2023/24 if the proposed amount remains,” the Council of Governors said.
County bosses noted that governments’ equitable share allocation for the current fiscal period (2022/23) was maintained at Sh370 billion despite the high inflation.
They said the proposed allocation in the Division of Revenue Bill, 2023 has not taken into account the cost of inflation in the country which has been on the rise in recent years.
“Failure to make an adjustment for the cost of inflation renders county governments unable to efficiently deliver services due to increased prices of goods and services,” they stated.
The government has stuck to its guns and affirmed that it won’t give more than the Sh380 billion it has offered counties as shareable revenue.
Governors have been asking for Sh425 billion but the national government is stuck at Sh380 billion, being 14.8 per cent of the projected total revenue collection of Sh2.9 trillion.
In February, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said the government will not cede ground on the stance saying there is no money.
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