CS Mbadi’s Stance Forces Governors To Convene A Crisis Meeting
The Council of Governors has summoned an emergency meeting for Friday, March 20, to address a number of concerns, including KSh 25 billion in budget cuts from the Treasury.
County officials are requesting explanations from the Treasury regarding budget cuts, which they claim will have a significant impact on donor-funded projects.
Among the governors’ demands is for the Senate to reject the budget cutbacks and seek amendments before passing the final budget.
Ahmed Abdullahi, the CoG Chair and Governor of Wajir, also mentioned the disputed Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF), which is a major source of contention among MPs.
According to the governor, the only agreement made with Members of Parliament (MPs) was to spare the RMLF from budget cuts because the fund is now involved in legal action.
The governors are certain that counties should have access to the RMLF because road construction falls within their jurisdiction.
Abdullahi also suggested that the fuel fee, which pays for road maintenance, should be shared evenly by the national and county governments.
“The Constitution recognizes only two types of roads: national trunk roads and county roads,” said CoG Chair Abdullahi.
“If Kenyans are taxed at the pump for road maintenance, the funds should be fairly allocated between national and county governments.”
Abdullahi also chastised MPs for seeking to devise an alternate funding structure for constituency roads.
“If the national government wants to allocate road funds to MPs, that raises a constitutional question that Kenyans must address,” he stated.
Governors argue that budget cuts have damaged awards such as the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) grant and the Food Systems Resilience Program (FSRP).
In addition, the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP) allocation and the Water and Sanitation Development Project (WSDP) award, among others, were affected.
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Treasury Secretary John Mbadi also commented on the standoff between governors and MPs over the Road Maintenance Levy Fund.
Earlier today, CS Hon. FCPA John Mbadi attended the Senate Budget and Finance Committee meeting at County Hall, Parliament Buildings, to discuss the 2025 Budget Policy Statement. The session, chaired by Senator Dr. Bonny Khalwale, (@DrBKhalwale ) addressed various fiscal matters.… pic.twitter.com/L0m0nJchvQ
— The National Treasury & Economic Planning (@KeTreasury) March 18, 2025
Mbadi said the standoff was sad since it was impacting the distribution of additional funds to counties.
“This matter needs to be resolved so as not to affect service delivery,” Mbadi said while appearing before the Senate Finance and Budget Committee on Tuesday.
He added, “I would like to request the two parties to look for a way of resolving their political differences that have hindered the allocation of funds to counties since it is the wish of the national treasury seeing devolution work.”
CS Mbadi’s Stance Forces Governors To Convene A Crisis Meeting
