The Council of Governors (CoG) has warned that it will suspend services in county governments within 14 days unless funds allegedly diverted from devolved units are immediately reinstated. This statement followed an extraordinary meeting of the CoG on Friday, where concerns were raised about the diversion of funds. The governors have called on the national exchequer to release the County Equitable Share, which they claim is three months overdue, amounting to Ksh. 78.03 billion since January 2025.
The CoG also condemned the redirection of Development Partners Conditional Grants, intended for county governments under the County Governments Additional Allocation Bill, 2025. They argue that this diversion is a deliberate attempt to undermine service delivery across the 47 counties. According to the CoG, this action is part of a larger, ongoing pattern of unjustified reductions to the Equitable Share of revenue under the guise of revenue shortfalls.
“The county governments will lose a significant Ksh. 38.4 billion from the Additional Allocations, including Ksh. 24 billion in Conditional Grants from donors meant to support crucial county projects in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, fisheries, water, roads, slum upgrading, and infrastructure development,” said Mutahi Kahiga, Vice Chairperson of the CoG, in a statement.
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He further explained that an additional Ksh. 13 billion is allocated from the National Government to fund joint projects like industrial parks.
To highlight the issue, the CoG pointed out that the national government had increased its own spending by Ksh. 114 billion in the recently passed Supplementary Appropriation Act 2025. “The National Treasury claims these cuts are due to the alleged inability of counties to absorb additional allocations in this financial year. Such claims are false and show the National Government’s careless approach to the Devolution Agenda,” said the governors.
The governors accused the national government of creating a crisis and then blaming counties for failing to deliver essential services. “It is becoming clear that these ongoing budgetary cuts are aimed at crippling county governments, hindering effective service delivery, and ultimately undermining and dismantling the devolved system of governance,” they said.
The CoG further accused the national government of intentionally underfunding county governments to create a crisis, only to blame counties for not delivering services. “This is a well-planned effort to frustrate devolution and reverse the progress made over the last decade.”
In conclusion, the CoG expressed its gratitude to the Senate for its continued defense of devolution and urged it to remain steadfast in opposing what they consider unconstitutional budget cuts. “We commend the Senate for its unwavering support of devolution as outlined in the Constitution and call on it to stand firm with the people of Kenya and the Council of Governors in resisting these unconstitutional budget reductions and protecting the achievements of devolution,” the governors stated.
