Governors warn of crisis in counties as Treasury yet to disburse Ksh.63B

The National Treasury is still holding more than Ksh.63 billion owed to counties for the months of September and October.

According to the Vice Chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG), Dr. Mutahi Kahiga, the cash crunch has also crippled the delivery of critical services, affecting thousands of residents.

"As we are speaking, the National Treasury owes us about Ksh.63.95 billion for September and October. Now we are moving into November, and by the 15th, they should also have disbursed the money for November,” Kahiga said.

The cash crunch has made the payment of salaries for county staff a nightmare.

Citizen TV spoke with Sylvester Nyambane, an employee of Nyamira County, who had gone for three months without pay, only to recently receive his August paycheck, uncertain when he will be paid his September and October dues.

Exorbitant bank overdrafts have been the only option for Governors to pay their staff in some counties, while others have been forced to go months without salaries.

"We have entered into an agreement with banks to pay salaries, but that is just for net salary. That means other deductions like KRA, etc., have to wait until we have money,” Kisii Governor Simba Arati said.

Apart from salaries, development projects and service delivery in a majority of counties have also been paralyzed.

"Here in Nyeri County, we had a challenge with garbage collection because we could not access funds from our creditors. We had exceeded our credit limits,” said Kahiga, who is also the Nyeri Governor

His Makueni counterpart Mutula Kilonzo Jr added: "Our suppliers no longer have faith in us. A project like this one, for supplying vehicles, becomes a challenge."

The Governors are now demanding urgent action from the National Treasury and Parliament.

"They need to have a special sitting to discuss the issue of county funds. We cannot operate without funds; devolution is now on its knees,” Kilonzo Jr stated.