‘Treasury Doesn’t Owe Them!’ – CS Mbadi Tells Governors After Ksh30B Disbursement
The administration has responded, just hours after the Council of Governors threatened to suspend operations in all 47 counties due to a cash shortage.
On Tuesday, November 18, Council of Governors chair Ahmed Abdullahi presided over a council meeting at which county executives voted to shut down counties in 30 days if the two chambers of Parliament failed to agree on budget disbursements to devolved entities.
In their statement, the governors argued that counties were operating on unsustainable funding, accounting for 50% of the equitable share based on last year’s allotment.
“The National Treasury is yet to disburse Kshs.63.6 Billion for October and November 2024 allocations. However, by December 2024, the 50% will have been exhausted which means Counties will not receive any disbursement from January 2025,” Abdullahi said in a statement.
The CoG chair added, “We note with great concern the delays by the Controller of Budget to approve requisitions for the withdrawal of funds.”
Treasury CS John Mbadi urges government officials to stop stealing public resources and reduce external debt; says the country loses Sh2 billion daily to theft of public funds pic.twitter.com/iDmSymgJui
— The Eastleigh Voice (@Eastleighvoice) November 18, 2024
However, in a rapid response, the administration, through the National Treasury and Economic Planning, attempted to refute the governors’ assertions.
The government organization issued a thorough statement indicating that disbursements to county governments had been made in full till October since the start of the new fiscal year.
“As of October 18, 2024, the National Treasury has fully disbursed funds to county governments, up to date with all payments except for the current month of November,” the Treasury insisted.
According to documents obtained by AfricasNow, the county government allocated KSh 158,024,092,590 between June 2024 and October 2024.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi also refuted the governors’ accusations that no funds have been issued since August 2024.
Mbadi said that Ksh.30.8 billion was disbursed on Monday, which satisfied all debts owed to devolved governments.
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“Today as I speak we have transferred all the money meant to go to the counties until the end of October. Let them pay workers. Let them make this country liquid because there is money for them,” Mbadi said.
Mbadi also asked the governors to quickly seek a resolution with Members of the National Assembly, as the National Treasury will no longer be legally obligated to support counties after December 2024.
Meanwhile, governors expressed concern that the National Government continues to receive sharing revenue after the National Assembly passed the Supplementary Appropriations Act 2024.
Abdullahi now expects that counties would face a severe financial gap beginning in January 2025, when the temporary solution involving the allocation of 50% of the equitable share based on the 2023 allocation expires.
‘Treasury Doesn’t Owe Them!’ – CS Mbadi Tells Governors After Ksh30B Disbursement
