The county governments have never had it this bad. They are literally hovering on the verge of financial collapse. T
he 47 devolved units are staring at total paralysis as in the past several months their financial allocations from the National Treasury have been delayed.
This dire situation has prompted the Council of Governors (CoG) to warn that further cash disbursement delays will leave the counties in a more precarious situation.
The counties have been struggling, as they solely rely on the Exchequer for their operations. However, it has become worse this year, confirming that the entire country is in an economic mess.
Driven against the wall by mounting woes, the governors wrote to National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u expressing fears about the future of devolution.
The current cash crunch, however, cannot take away the accolades counties have won since their inception in 2013. Devolution has enabled the biggest transfer of resources from the centre to the grassroots ever since independence.
The potential is great, with a high level of development throughout the country, but the counties continue to experience hitches.
Funds due to the counties should be released on the 15th of every month but this schedule is hardly done. That leaves the administration of the counties in an embarrassing mess.
The delays paralyse service delivery as counties are unable to pay their staff and suppliers, who offer critical services to citizens.
The CoG says the counties are owed Sh92.5 billion for January, February and March. Most of the time, the National Treasury releases funds just days before the close of a financial year. The delays are thus partly to blame for the huge pending bills.
The sorry situation in the counties is against the backdrop of a shrinking national economy, a free-falling shilling and adverse effects of a nationwide drought and famine. The economy is also yet to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The looming shutdown of the counties would be disastrous as the devolved units bear a huge part of the national burden. The concerned authorities must, therefore, take quick action to keep the counties running and avert a grave situation.
