Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o has criticized President William Ruto’s decision to have counties bear the budget deficit following the withdrawal of the Finance Bill, 2024. Nyong’o argued that the devolved units are already underfunded and should not be further burdened by the rejected bill.
He called on Parliament to resist attempts to reduce county funds through the reintroduction of the Division of Revenue Bill to address the shortfall.
Nyong’o emphasized the need to protect the financial integrity of counties to ensure they can effectively serve their communities. He urged lawmakers to prioritize adequate funding for devolved units to maintain essential services and promote local development.
“This would be a travesty of justice on county governments whose share of revenue is based on the audited national accounts which are normally three years behind,” he said.
In a statement, Nyong’o wondered how the president could base the withdrawn finance bill on the Division of Revenue allocations which he said is calculated on a budget of three years ago.
“This is a clear testimony that counties are targeted by the national executive,” he stated.
An attempt to reduce the county allocations, he noted, is a direct attack on the existence and survival of the institution of the counties.
In his speech while rejecting the bill, the head of state called for expenditure cuts across all arms of government including counties to address the Sh346 billion shortfall.
“The reduction in expenditure, amounting to Sh346 billion, will be borne equitably by both levels of government: the national and county governments. With respect to the national government, the reduction will be borne by the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, and our constitutional commissions,” he said.
Counties were set to receive an enhanced equitable share of Sh400.1 billion in the Division of Revenue Bill signed into law on June 10. This represents a Sh14.6 billion increase, equating to a 23.48 percent rise from the constitutional minimum threshold of 15 percent. In the 2023-24 Financial Year, counties received Sh385.4 billion, which was 23.03 percent of the last audited accounts.
President William Ruto stated that the increase in funding aims to improve service provision by ensuring counties are adequately funded to perform their functions as outlined in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. This boost is intended to support the delivery of essential services and promote local development across the counties.
