Killing Devolution? Governors threaten to paralyse counties over diverted funds by ex-chequer

Council of Governors (CoG) Vice Chairperson and Nyeri governor Mutahi Kahiga address the media. Governors threatened to shut down services in 14 days should the national government fail to restore the Sh38.4billion diverted funds from county governments, March 21, 2025.

Governors have threatened to paralyse services in counties accusing the President William Ruto’s led Kenya Kwanza administration of sabotaging devolution by slashing and diverting shareable revenue by Sh38.4billion.

Consequently, they issued an ultimatum to halt operations in all 47 devolved units if the diverted funds are reinstated within fourteen days.

During a special Council of Governors (CoG) meeting held earlier today, the council demanded for the immediate release of Sh78.03billion in delayed County Equitable Share funds and the restoration of Sh38.4 billion diverted from county allocations, warning that county services will be shut down if the funds are not released.

It further condemned what it described as the arbitrary diversion of Development Partners Conditional Grants through the County Governments Additional Allocation Bill, 2025.

“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 its services in the next 14 days,” CoG Vice-chairperson, Mutahi Kahiga stated.

The CoG said the diverted funds include Sh2 billion in donor-supported conditional grants for critical projects in healthcare, agriculture, fisheries, water, roads, slum upgrading, and infrastructure development.

Another Sh13billion meant to fund joint projects such as industrial parks had also been withheld.

“This blatant act is yet another attempt to systematically cripple service delivery across the 47 County Governments, an affront to the Devolution agenda as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010,” Kahiga stated.

The National Treasury has justified the cuts, arguing that counties have not been able to absorb the funds this financial year an assertion the CoG has rejected.

“These fallacious assertions depict how the National Government casually handles the Devolution Agenda,” Kahiga said.

The Council further accused the National Government of deliberately underfunding counties to frustrate devolution.

“It is becoming increasingly apparent that these systematic budgetary cuts are designed to cripple County Governments, hinder effective service delivery, and ultimately discredit and kill the Devolved system of Governance,” read the statement.

The CoG also commended the Senate for defending devolution and called on lawmakers to oppose what it termed as unconstitutional budgetary cuts.

The Council now wants the National Treasury to release the Sh78.03 billion County Equitable Share arrears for the months of January, February, and March, on top of restoring the diverted funds.

“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 added.

The Council has vowed to pursue legal and constitutional avenues to secure the release of the funds, warning that the fate of essential services across the country hangs in the balance.