Governors vow to push further with Pesa Mashinani

Kenya; Governors have vowed to press on with the controversial initiative to amend the Constitution, accusing the Government of not allocating counties their rightful share of national revenue.

They blamed the yearly tug-of-war between the two levels of government on the national government, saying they are not allocating adequate funds and therefore derailing development in counties.

The county bosses' defiant stand comes at a time the Government is exploring all avenues to seek consensus with them and scuttle their referendum bid, even as they revealed they have collected over 1.2 million signatures.

The Council of Governors (CoG) yesterday, while releasing their proposed legislation, the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 (Amendment) Bill, 2014 at Delta House, reiterated that will not abandon the process.

"The Council wishes to set the record straight on our Pesa Mashinani initiative. The campaign is on and so far, we have collected over 1.2 million signatures," said CoG Chairman Governor Isaac Ruto (Bomet) in a statement on behalf of his colleagues.

He continued: "The issue is not that counties get an increase in allocation but that it has to be guaranteed in the constitution not through haggling and negotiation every financial year."

Ruto regretted to note the "push and pull on the matter, has occasioned delays in the budgetary process, resulting in counties being starved of funds."

Function 14

"We are tired of making noise every year, the fact that we received a consensus on the Sh258 billion does not mean it is enough, however going forward will want it anchored in law. For instance, Function 14 of the Fourth Schedule got zero funding," noted Ruto.

The function cited involves, coordinating and ensuring participation of communities and locations in governance at the local level and assisting communities and locations to develop the administrative capacity for the effective exercise of the functions and powers and participation in governance at the local level.

Also the chairman took issue with Sh945 million allocation to counties for the setting up of village polytechnics, arguing that if divided equitably each county might end up getting Sh20 million.

"This is hardly enough to put up the infrastructure, hire staff and equip the facility. This is the reason we want the law amended to ensure counties get adequate finances," he stressed.

He continued, "If counties know how much they are entitled to well in advance, it will be easy to budget. Delays have resulted in under-development as the procurement process takes a long time."