How counties will share Sh5 billion Covid-19 funds

Nairobi, Kakamega and Bungoma are some of the counties that will get the lion’s share of the Sh5 billion Covid-19 funds from the economic stimulus package announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta. 

All the 47 counties will get the funds through the Ministry of Health, which has been considered for additional conditional grants.

This is after Parliament failed to amend the budget so that the funds can be appropriated, a matter noted by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe in a letter dated May 14 to his National Treasury counterpart Ukur Yatani.

“It is noted that the amendment (to the Supplementary Estimates No II Appropriation Bill to provide for the additional funding of Sh5 billion) was not approved by Parliament and therefore the funding has not been factored in the budget as planned,” noted the CS.

Mr Kagwe said counties will now get the cash through a conditional grant budget awarded to the Ministry of Health, which will be shared as per the revenue allocation formula determined by the Commission on Revenue Allocation.

“In order to ensure that the County Governments are able to undertake interventions to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health has been considered for additional grants of Sh5 billion to cater for conditional grants to the counties pending regularisation in the financial year 2019/2020,” reads part of the letter dated May 14, 2020.

Nairobi will get the lion's share of Sh294.3 million while Lamu will get the least Sh13.6 million. Nairobi has most Covid-19 cases at more than 600 while Lamu is yet to record a case.

Kakamega County comes second in allocations with Sh262 million, followed by Bungoma, which will get Sh213 million and Nakuru Sh201 million. Currently there is no Covid-19 case in Kakamega while Bungoma has two and Nakuru seven. Machakos County, which has three cases, will get Sh188 million while Kiambu which has recorded 18 cases has been allocated Sh185 million.

Kisumu, which is yet to record a case, has been allocated Sh159 million while Kisii, with one case, will get Sh156 million. Meru, with two cases, has an allocation of Sh152 million.

Sh146 million has been allocated for Amason Kingi’s Kilifi County, which has 11 cases, Sh143 million for Migori County that borders Tanzania at Isebania, which is a problematic area for cross border infections while Sh136 million will go to Turkana County that has no case yet. Kwale, with 18 cases, has been allocated Sh137 million.

Other counties which will get less than Sh100 million are Isiolo (Sh16m), Samburu (Sh27m), Tana River (Sh33m, Taita Taveta (Sh37m, Wajir (Sh38m), Tharaka Nithi (Sh39m), Narok (Sh50m), Nyamira (Sh59m), Nyandarua (Sh89m), and Siaya (Sh97m.

Others are Baringo (Sh84m), Elgeyo Marakwet (Sh57m), Embu (Sh80m), Garissa (Sh41m), Homa Bay (Sh98m), Kajiado (Sh52m) , Laikipia (Sh54m), West Pokot (Sh75m), Vihiga (Sh60m), Marsabit (Sh28m), and Mandera (Sh91m). [Graham Kajilwa]