NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 21 – The Council of Governors (CoG) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the National Treasury, demanding the immediate release of Sh78.03 billion in delayed County Equitable Share funds and the restoration of Sh38.4 billion diverted from county allocations, warning that county services will be shut down if the funds are not released.
In a statement issued on Friday, the CoG condemned what it described as the arbitrary diversion of Development Partners Conditional Grants through the County Governments Additional Allocation Bill, 2025.
“We demand the immediate restoration of all the diverted funds to County Governments to ensure uninterrupted service delivery, failure to which County Governments will shut down its services in the next 14 days,” said CoG Vice-chairperson, Mutahi Kahiga.
The CoG said the diverted funds include Sh24 billion in donor-supported conditional grants for critical projects in healthcare, agriculture, fisheries, water, roads, slum upgrading, and infrastructure development.
Another Sh13 billion meant to fund joint projects such as industrial parks had also been withheld.
“This blatant act is yet another attempt to systematically cripple service delivery across the 47 County Governments, an affront to the Devolution agenda as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010,” Kahiga stated.
The National Treasury has justified the cuts, arguing that counties have not been able to absorb the funds this financial year an assertion the CoG has rejected.
“These fallacious assertions depict how the National Government casually handles the Devolution Agenda,” Kahiga said.
The Council further accused the National Government of deliberately underfunding counties to frustrate devolution.
“It is becoming increasingly apparent that these systematic budgetary cuts are designed to cripple County Governments, hinder effective service delivery, and ultimately discredit and kill the Devolved system of Governance,” read the statement.
The CoG also commended the Senate for defending devolution and called on lawmakers to oppose what it termed as unconstitutional budgetary cuts.
The Council now want the National Treasury to release the Sh78.03 billion County Equitable Share arrears for the months of January, February, and March, on top of restoring the diverted funds.
“We wish to reiterate that Devolution is here to stay. The People of Kenya can attest to the benefits of this system of governance,” Kahiga added.
The Council has vowed to pursue legal and constitutional avenues to secure the release of the funds, warning that the fate of essential services across the country hangs in the balance.
