Counties warn of services collapse after reduction of Ksh.13.5B allocation

Council of Governors Chairperson and Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi says critical services in counties will be seriously affected due to a shortfall of Ksh.13.5 billion that had been previously allocated to counties in the Division of Revenue.

Governor Abdullahi now says counties will be forced to freeze any kind of recruitment and additional salaries to employees as proposed by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission with the reduction.

"The housing levy law that came into effect had actually increased the payroll of the county governments by Ksh.4 billion. These are national figures— Ksh.4.05 billion. Two, there was an agreement on county promoters, CHPs, which was matching expenditure of about 100,000 CHPs in the country, adding Ksh.3.23 billion to the payroll.”

“Then there were annual wage increases, IPPD, which are largely automatic even before the SRC pronounces itself on any salary increments. For all counties, this comes to Ksh.6.295 billion."

Counties have been in a crossfire with the National Treasury over funding to the devolved units that triggered an extraordinary meeting of the council of governors on Monday.

While governors decry lack of money, Treasury CS John Mbadi said the national government owes counties no single penny.

“We have sent counties money...we don't owe counties any money except for November,” Mbadi said during the meeting.

According to governors, counties are suffocating in financial frustrations. In documents seen by Citizen TV, a total of Ksh.158 billion has been released to counties since July 2024 at the onset of the financial year.

Treasury is accusing counties of low absorption of funds released to them. A report from the Central Bank of Kenya, Nairobi City County for instance has Ksh.6.4 billion lying idle at the CBK.