The national treasury has been requested by Kakamega Governor Fernandez Barasa to release cash owed to counties so that adequate planning and development may take place.
The governor who chairs the Council of Governors’ Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (CoG) requested that funding be made available for devolved services including ECDEs, fisheries, and library services, among other things. The Sh13 million worth of drugs and non-pharmaceuticals that were brought on Wednesday to the Kakamega County General Hospital were being reviewed by Barasa as he spoke.
Barasa complained that from November 2022, the Treasury has not sent money to devolved entities. The governor disclosed that some counties are owed money by Treasury going all the way back to the month of October 2022.
This, he claimed, is against both the Constitution and the devolutionary spirit, which advocates for increased resources at the local level.
Despite the fact that it is a new year, there are counties that are owed money from the previous year that hasn’t yet been released. However, these counties must have a budget and run their operations. This is completely at odds with the devolutionary attitude,” Barasa remarked. The county executive for Kakamega also requested that the Treasury allocate Sh425 billion to counties in the upcoming budget rather than the budgeted Sh380 billion.
The county government would spend Sh150 million every three months to restock health institutions throughout the county with critical pharmaceuticals and non-pharms, Barasa promised residents, reiterating that providing health services and infrastructure is his top priority. The governor also promised to pay nurses who didn’t receive their salaries for the months of December 2020 and January 2021.