Governors threaten counties shutdown over Sh78 billion withheld funds
The governors said the Sh38.4 billion lost from additional allocations includes Sh24 billion meant for critical county projects in healthcare, agriculture, fisheries, water, roads, slum upgrading, and infrastructure development.
The Council of Governors has threatened to shut down county operations in 14 days if the National Treasury does not restore Sh38.4 billion in diverted funds and release Sh78.03 billion in delayed county allocations.
Council of Governors on Friday led by its Vice Chairperson Mutahi Kahiga condemned what they described as a deliberate attempt to cripple county governments and weaken devolution.
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“The Council of Governors expresses its deep concern and unequivocal condemnation of the arbitrary diversion of Development Partners Conditional Grants due to County Governments in the consideration and passage of the County Governments Additional Allocation Bill, 2025,” he said in a statement.
The governors highlighted that the Sh38.4 billion lost from additional allocations includes Sh24 billion meant for critical county projects in healthcare, agriculture, fisheries, water, roads, slum upgrading, and infrastructure development.
Another Sh13 billion was to fund ongoing projects such as industrial parks, jointly agreed upon with the National Government.
According to the Council, the National Treasury has justified these budget cuts by claiming that counties are unable to absorb the additional funds within the financial year.
Financial commitments
However, the governors dismissed this explanation, stating that counties had already made financial commitments to ongoing projects.
“The right of counties to be adequately resourced is not a privilege but a constitutional guarantee,” the statement read further.
The Council also pointed out that while counties are facing funding cuts, the National Government has increased its own expenditure by Sh114 billion in the recently enacted Supplementary Appropriation Act, 2025.
Going further, the Governors accused the National Government of intentionally creating a financial crisis at the county level to discredit devolution.
They argued that by withholding funds, the National Treasury was setting counties up for failure, making it appear as though they were unable to provide essential services.
“We demand the immediate restoration of all the diverted funds to County Governments to ensure uninterrupted service delivery, failure to which County Governments will shut down their services in the next 14 days,” the county bosses warned.
In addition, the Governors further called for the immediate release of Sh78.03 billion in equitable share arrears for January, February, and March.
They also urged the Senate to continue standing firm in protecting devolution and resisting unconstitutional budget cuts.
“As we conclude, we wish to reiterate that devolution is here to stay. The people of Kenya can attest to the benefits of this system of governance,” Kahiga said.
As a result, the governors vowed to explore all legal and constitutional options to ensure county governments receive their rightful allocations, noting that the future of devolution and essential service delivery depended on it.
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