Editor's Review

The president implied that the burden of the budget deficit would be shared among the two levels of government.

Kisumu governor Anyang' Nyong'o is concerned President William Ruto might turn to counties to raise the KSh 346 billion he intended to get through the Finance Bill 2024.

With the president declaring that the budget deficit will be shared between the two tiers of government, Nyong'o observed that counties were being targetted.

This was after the president rejected the finance bill whose taxation clauses attracted resistance across the country.

According to Ruto, the tax measures in the condemned bill were to raise monies for, among other commitments, employing 46,000 JSS interns, increasing NG-CDF by Sh10 billion, increasing the allocation to county governments by Sh5 billion, and allocating Sh14.5 billion for rural electrification.

File photo of Kisumu governor Anyang' Nyong'o.

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With the president's call for austerity measures and budget cuts to fill the shortfalls, Nyong'o is sceptical the county governments could be crippled.

"The president is proposing that the perceived deficit amounting to Sh346 billion expected from the rejected bill should be borne equitably by both national and county governments. The statement further states that the president has referred the Division of Revenue Bill back to parliament for reconsideration and to factor in the perceived deficit.

This would be a travesty of justice for county governments whose share of revenue is based on the audited national accounts, which are normally three years behind. How can the President purport to base the failed finance bill on the Division of Revenue Allocations, which is calculated on a budget from three years ago?" said Nyong'o.

The governor stated that any attempt to reduce the counties' share of the revenue is sabotaging devolution, a move that should be opposed by every well-meaning Kenyan.

Nyong'o urged the National Assembly c"to resist any attempt to be used to kill the fabric of Kenya. They have already been forewarned by the actions of the ongoing generation Z demonstrations."

Ruto referred the bill back to parliament which he directed in a memorandum to delete all the clauses.