Cheserem criticizes county revenue allocations

By MICHAEL WESONGA

UASIN GISHU: Chairman of the Commission for revenue Allocation has expressed disappointment over the meagre allocations devolved to the counties by national government.

Cheserem said the Sh226 Billion only amounted to a paltry 20 per cent of the national budget and was thus too little to sustain good governance.

He asked the concerns persons to stop giving Kenyans misguiding statistics that peg the figure at about 42 per cent of national budget given it stands at about Sh1.7 trillion.

“The government is on record saying they spend about Sh300 billion and most recently up to Sh500 as a single entity,” he raised concern.

The chairperson offered that the current allocation meant that only SH20 were being devolved to the counties for every Sh100 made yet most of the functions had been devolved to the counties.

“The bare minimum that should be disbursed to the counties should be at least Sh250 billion that would translate to Sh25 allocation to the counties for every Sh100 made,” he advised.

He was speaking in Eldoret during a stakeholder’s forum for the formation of the senate committee on Public Investment and Accounts committee chaired by Kakamega senator Bonny Khalwale.

Cheserem however cautioned against misappropriation of public funds and called for speedy trial and expedition of justice on state officers engaged in corruption.

“We must not look at devolution and devolvement of corruption and that is why house committees must be adequately funded to discuss current reports unlike the past where they have been discussing reports dating up to five years back,” he advised.

Khalwale faulted the current formula being used by the CRA is disbursement of devolved funds and said the senate was scheduled to deliberate on it.

“The current formula has never been deliberated by the senate which has the core mandate in such matters but by the 10th parliament, not until now which is three years later after it was enacted,” he stated.

He said the formula’s stipulation basing the sharable revenue on last audited accounts which in this case dates back to the tenth parliament was erroneous and thus promised to revise it to as latest as possible.

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission CEO Mumo Matemu assured that the body was not engaging in negative profiling of governors but rather tracing down all state officials engaged in corruption regardless of their status in society.

Also present at the function were senate speaker Ekwe Ethuro whi chaired the meeting, senators Amos Wako, Hassan Omar, Martha Wangari, Mong’are Okongo.

Other independent bodies represented were the Transition Authority by chairperson Kinuthia Wa Mwangi, Public Procurement and Oversight Authority (PPOA) Deputy director general Jane Njoroge, Office of the Auditor General, Joshua Musyimi from the controller of Budget and the deputy director of CID Gideon Kimilu.