BY BARAKA MULI.
“We’ll Shut Down Counties if arrears are not released in 2 Weeks”. Governor’s Say
The Council of Governors (CoG) has cited the financial crisis in the counties as a threat to the devolution dream in the country.
In a joint statement in Nairobi earlier today, the Governors said the* crisis across all counties continue to deepen with the devolved units now entering the fourth month without their monthly disbursement from the exchequer.
According to the CoG, this is the longest time the devolved units have gone without receiving cash from the National Treasury, a situation that has affected critical services in the counties and payment of salaries in some counties.
“By dint of this, the Council of Governors hereby issues a 14 days’ notice to shut down counties if February, March and April arrears are not released within two
weeks. We also notity the citizens of Kenya that due to the failure of the National
Treasury to disburse the funds, County Governments will not be able to deliver services as expected”.
The Governors hope that the cash crunch will be addressed sooner rather than later to bring a return to normalcy at the devolved units.
The Governors have also proposed the separation of the Ministry of Finance and the National Treasury to
address the challenges and issues clawing back on devolution saying there is need for a comprehensive review of the Public Finance Management Act of 2012.
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