A collage of Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakango with Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga
County governments have questioned the move by the Controller of Budget to ban devolved units from administering bursary funds for post-nursery students.
Nyeri Governor Muthai Kahiga challenged the Controller of Budget, Margret Nyakang'o, to come out clean on her latest directive, saying it is not genuine.
Kahiga argued that the same Controller of Budget had already approved money meant for bursaries for various county governments in July 2024.
"When we make budgets, the first person to approve the budgets is the Controller of Budget, and as we are speaking, in almost every county there is an allocation of bursaries, which she approved in July. What is it that has suddenly come up after she approved budgets?" posed Kahiga.
"She now requires that Nyeri, as a county government, sit with the national government to sign participatory agreements for a function that has not been allocated to counties or the national government."
In a letter dated January 14, the CoB said the county governments have no legal basis to finance students in post-primary institutions, saying that the mandate is under the national government.
She said the only way county governments can run bursaries for post-primary education would be if the functions are transferred from the national government.
"Consequently, for any county government to offer educational support towards functions classified under Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule, there is a need to transfer the function in accordance with Article 187 of the Constitution,'' Nyakango said in her letter.
The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution stipulates functions meant for county governments and the national government.
Nyakango said that Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule, designates universities, tertiary education institutions, primary schools, special education, secondary schools and special needs education institutions under the national government.
"Consequently party 2 of the Fourth Schedules under section 9 assigns pre-primary education, village polytechnics, home craft centres and childcare facilities to County governments,'' Nyakango said.
However, Kahiga argued that bursaries are social support programmes that are intended to mitigate and are created out of necessity because people have challenges.
"They help us mitigate against poverty and cushion the poor,'' Kahiga said.
The governor said county governments are allowed by law to create funds saying his government has three funds including the Elimu and the Enterprise Development Funds.
"It is also the responsibility of any level of government that budgets to include funds including underpinning them in legislation of policy."
" Within the Elimu fund, we fund students who are going to secondary schools, tertiary and universities, we pay their fees because they are unable to pay."'