County governments have called for holistic review of the conditional grants flow framework for ease of access to funds from development partners.
The review should include repealing of new sections of the Public Finance Management Act to ensure counties do not lose money allocated to them.
Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa said that the new amendments to Sections 191A to 191E requiring counties to sign intergovernmental agreements with the National Treasury for the transfer of all conditional grants was unnecessary red tape.
“It is saddening to note that in this era of devolution, county governments are experiencing challenges with the flow of funds, especially money from development partners in the form of conditional grants,” he said.
Barasa, the Council of Governors chairman for finance, planning and economic affairs, made the remarks on Tuesday.
The governor said that the delayed passage of the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill by Parliament and introduction of bureaucratic red tape on counties in accessing conditional grants are just links of the chains of neo-colonialism.
He said counties have developed the necessary infrastructure and deserve the freedom to plan and execute their development agenda as stipulated in the Constitution.
He called on Parliament to fast-track the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill that is currently before the mediation committee, adding that governors expect timely release of funds to facilitate good governance across the devolved units.
Barasa appealed to the national government to complete the unbundling of devolved functions together with their attendant resources.
“I wish to call upon the National Treasury to release the Sh52.4 billion equitable share owed to counties for the months of October and November," he said.
Barasa said that his administration will invest massively in the health sector as outlined in the CIDP 2023-2027.
“We are outing resources in improving health infrastructure, disease prevention and treatment and health innovation and research,” he said.
“Upon assuming office, and in order to achieve the constitutional right of the highest attainable standards of health, I operationalised the Kakamega County Health Services Act, 2022, which robustly provides for the Facility Improvement Fund to facilitate retention of the fees collected by the health facilities for purposes of improving efficiency in the delivery of health services.”
The law now allows Level 4 and 5 hospitals to raise revenue and, through a structured arrangement, retain the collection and use it to improve the health services for the residents.
Barasa revealed that the county has collected Sh184 million from the health stream between July and November this year. He said that the county has the potential to double the amount.