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The national government has disbursed Sh1 trillion to county governments in the four years since the country started implementing the devolved system.
A summary of the disbursements by the National Treasury shows that the allocations have gone up from Sh195 billion in the 2013/14 financial year to Sh304 billion in 2016/17.
It noted that growing allocations to the counties over the years has had an impact on the lives of Kenyans that includes increased enrollment in schools and infrastructure development at the county level.
“In general, enhancement of payments to the county governments has caused notable positive impacts in service delivery and livelihoods,” said the summary signed by Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge.
The government is required by the Constitution to allocate at least 15 per cent of revenue to the county governments.
Treasury said it had gone above the threshold and over the last financial year, the equitable share transfer was 21.3 per cent of the ordinary revenue during the year. In the 2016/17 financial year, Kenya Revenue Authority collected Sh1.415 trillion.
“Payments from the national government financed 92 per cent of county governments’ actual budgets between 2014/15 and 2015/16. The payments represented 88 per cent of all overall receipts by county governments in the period 2013/14 to 2015/16,” said the statement.
Negotiated settlement
The money paid to counties in the last financial year included Sh4.8 billion for payment of doctors, nurses and other health staff after a negotiated settlement that ended the disruptive doctors’ strike that started late last year and was not called off until March.
“These payments were part of a negotiated settlement to trade disputes within the (health) sector,” said Mr Thugge.
The Treasury breakdown shows that Nairobi received the largest amount at Sh49 billion over the four years. Other counties that received relatively high amounts include Turkana (Sh39.3 billion), Kakamega (Sh35.3 billion), Mandera (Sh33.7 billion), Nakuru (Sh32.9 billion) and Kiambu (Sh30.1 billion).
Lamu County received the least amount, with an accumulated total of Sh7.9 billion. Other counties with low allocations included Isiolo (Sh11.6 billion), Tharaka Nithi (Sh12 billion), Elegeyo Marakwet (sh12.6 billion) and Taita Taveta (Sh12.6 billion).