DP Gachagua says Treasury to disburse Sh94.4b to counties

DP Rigathi Gachagua (centre) during the 20th Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council meeting at his official residence in Karen, Nairobi. [DPSC, Standard]

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has assured county governors that they will receive the outstanding Sh94.35 billion disbursement for April, May and June.

Gachagua, who hosted the 20th Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council meeting at his official residence in Karen, Nairobi, on Monday, noted that so far Sh305.25 billion has been disbursed to the 47 counties.

The DP said governors are at liberty to verify pending bills and make payment plans within two weeks while committees will be set up to identify ineligible pending bills.

Gachagua noted that the Equalisation Fund Appropriation Bill 2023 is before Parliament for consideration and the Commission on Revenue Allocation will meet to undertake a holistic approach to the manner in which marginalised counties were identified with some areas having similar climatic challenges.

He announced that the Inter-Governmental Relations Technical Committee is undertaking the transfer of devolved functions that shall be complete within the next three weeks and the technical report shared with key stakeholders.

The DP said the settlement of liabilities was to be offset via a debt settlement plan that six counties have adhered to with 20 others having been trained and assessed on tax administration tools to enhance own-source revenue.

He revealed that the Ministry of Agriculture has submitted that five cases on the privatisation of sugar firms that were before the courts were concluded and dismissed while three cases are still pending in court.

Gachagua appealed to governors not to oppose the Finance Bill. "We are calling on governors not to join the bandwagon opposed to the Finance Bill that is intended to ensure that the government has sufficient funds to manage its affairs and also ensure that counties get their disbursements on time," he said.

The DP reiterated the State's resolve not to borrow money for recurrent expenditure with the debt ceiling already having reached Sh10 trillion. Treasury and mining cabinet secretaries Prof Njuguna Ndungu and Salim Mvurya and more than 20 governors attended the meeting.