By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with JULIUS OTIENO
Published on 2024-01-18 19:00:00
Governors came together for a crucial meeting on Friday to address the challenges of devolution in the face of ongoing disputes with the national government over functions and funds. Anne Waiguru, the chairperson of the Council of Governors, called for an extraordinary meeting of county leaders to address these issues.
Central to the discussions will be the ongoing dispute between the national government and the counties over devolved functions that are still being performed from the center as well as the proposed allocation of funds to the counties for the 2024-25 fiscal year. This dispute currently involves around 65 functions amounting to over Sh272 billion. While the governors are advocating for the release of both the functions and their accompanying budgets, some state departments have opposed this move.
Additionally, the governors will be addressing the Managed Equipment Services (MES) program, which involves the leasing of medical equipment to select county and national government hospitals. Contracts for this program expired last month, and there are recommendations to extend them by six months to ensure continuity of services as the counties prepare to transition from the leasing arrangement.
The meeting last Thursday at the Kenya School of Government saw the Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha and a select team from the Council of Governors meeting with MES vendors. It was agreed that the national government would fund the first three months of the extended contracts, with the counties funding the remaining three. Beyond that, individual counties will be required to sign contracts with vendors based on their specific needs.
In addition to these matters, the governors will discuss the proposal made by the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) to allocate Sh398.14 billion to the devolved units for the 2024-25 financial year. Sources within the Council of Governors have revealed that the county leaders have rejected this proposal and plan to present their own figure after the meeting.
Finally, the governors also want CRA to work on the formula for sharing benefits from natural resources and to transfer resources for the operations of museums and libraries to the counties. Concerns have been raised about the reasoning behind CRA’s reduced allocation to the counties for the next financial year, especially in light of projected increases in revenue collection. Overall, it is clear that there are significant issues regarding devolution that need to be addressed to ensure the effective functioning of the devolved units.
Read the original article on The Star
