The Council of Governors (CoG) has come to the defence of the counties following a damning report that found some of them to have spent zero of their allocation on development projects.
In a strongly worded statement, CoG chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi clarified that while this was true, it was worth noting that counties did not receive any funds from the Treasury during the first quarter of this financial year.
“As a matter of fact, counties received zero exchequer releases from the National Treasury during the quarter…,” the statement reads in part.
The report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o released Wednesday covers the first quarter of this 2024-25 financial year, from July to September.
“The first disbursement was received during the last month of that quarter. However, no county was able to access the money by the end of that month,” said Abdullahi.
According to Abdullahi, counties said to have undertaken projects during the period utilised the balances they had from the previous year.
“...others took loans from commercial banks to pay salaries and sustain service delivery,” he said.
Pointing an accusing finger at the controller of budget for allegedly “scandalising” the counties, the Wajir Governor claimed the presentation has now portrayed the counties in bad light.
He said this has caused misleading impressions and unwarranted agitation among the public and media to the detriment of the governors.
He went on to allege that the challenges with the delayed release of funds are orchestrated by her office.
“This is a facilitative office that must live up to, and respect their mandate.”
With regard to counties operating numerous accounts, the Governor held that all accounts are lawful.
He emphasised that in accordance with Section 5 (2) of the Facility Improvement Financing Act (2023), all county health facilities have been declared entities of the counties.
As a result, he said, they are required to open bank accounts in commercial banks for purposes of revenue retention and expenditure.
“To date, county governments have 7, 011 health facilities which are commensurate with the accounts in commercial banks,” he stated.
He added that pursuant to county government regulations, the counties are required to open accounts in commercial banks for purposes of revenue collection.
He further justified that counties implementing various projects funded from conditional grants by development partners are required to open special purpose accounts for these projects in commercial banks as a condition.
This is for operational convenience and to ensure the ring-fencing of these funds for specific projects, he added.
