Governors Defend Multiple Bank Accounts Report After Uproar
On Thursday, the Council of Governors (CoG) backed counties that have several bank accounts.
The council, led by Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, argued that all accounts opened and operated by county governments were valid.
In a message to the press, the Governor explained why counties have several bank accounts. According to Governor Ahmed, counties operate as autonomous organizations that must have their own finances.
“In accordance with Section 5(2) of the Facility Improvement Financing Act, 2023, all county health facilities have been declared entities of County Governments and are required to open and operate bank accounts in commercial banks for purposes of revenue retention and expenditure,” Governor Ahmed explained.
The governor stated that the 47 county governments have a total of 7,011 health facilities, which corresponds to the accounts they maintain in commercial banks.
Council of Governors Chairman H.E FCPA @HEAhmedJiir addressing the press following the recent @CoB_Kenya report on Counties Budget Implementation for quarter 1 of this financial year and finance. pic.twitter.com/HaCafS8K34
— Council of Governors (@KenyaGovernors) December 5, 2024
“Pursuant to Regulation 82(1)(b) of the PFM (County Governments) Regulations, 2015, County governments are required to open accounts in commercial banks for purposes of revenue collection,” he added.
Most county governments carry out a variety of projects that are sponsored through conditional grants from development partners.
The partners established criteria, including the obligation to open Special Purpose Accounts for the projects for operational convenience and to ensure that these monies are ring-fenced for specified initiatives.
At the same time, the council lambasted stories stating that counties spent zero percent, describing them as false.
“Counties received zero exchequer releases from the National Treasury during the quarter,” Governor Ahmed explained.
“Any development done during that quarter was funded from last full year’s arrears while most counties were forced to go for short-term loans from commercial banks to pay salaries and sustain service delivery.”
According to the CoG, the first disbursement for quarter one 2024 was received in November; nevertheless, no County was able to access the funds before the quarter’s conclusion on September 30.
“You cannot spend that which you do not have,” the CoG governor lamented.
“This has caused a misleading impression and unwarranted agitation among the members of the public and the media to the detriment of the County Governors and their governments.”
Governor Ahmed criticized the treasury for delaying the payment of quarterly disbursements, which have crippled county operations.
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He also chastised the budget controller for portraying county governments in a negative manner.
“The controller of the budget has continued to scandalize counties while she is aware of the challenges with delayed release of funds, most of which are orchestrated by her office.”
On September 4, the Office of the Controller of the Budget announced that county governments manage more than 1,000 county bank accounts.
Bungoma County had the most accounts (321), followed by Migori County (208) and Kwale (165).
Governors Defend Multiple Bank Accounts Report After Uproar
