The Controller of Budget (CoB) has been called upon to apply funding laws and policies equitably across both national and county governments, amid growing concerns from county officials over alleged bias.
Wajir County Chief Officer for Finance, Yahya Dahiye raised the issue on Friday during a public participation forum on the national budget held in Wajir town.
He argued that current practices favour the national government, placing unnecessary hurdles on counties attempting to carry out basic welfare functions.
Dahiye criticised the requirement for counties to sign Intergovernmental Partnership Agreements (IPAs) before accessing funds for services such as bursaries and disability support.
This, he said, is despite similar functions being executed freely by national government entities—even when those functions are fully devolved.
“It beats logic when the CoB asks counties to go through complex, rigorous processes to access welfare funds just because tertiary education is not devolved, yet national government agencies are never asked to sign IPAs when undertaking devolved functions like market construction, roads, and water projects,” Dahiye said.
He emphasised that equal application of laws and funding policies is essential to promote fairness, equity, and accountability. Uniform standards, he noted, would prevent discrimination and make it easier to track and evaluate the use of public resources.
According to Dahiye, delays and inconsistencies in fund release to counties have contributed to the slow implementation of projects and service delivery failures.
He also expressed frustration that while entities like the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) have requested additional funds to cover new levies such as housing and Social Health Authority (SHA) deductions, counties have not received corresponding increases in their allocations.
Governors have repeatedly blamed delayed disbursements on the lengthy approval process at the Controller of Budget’s office.
In December last year, the Council of Governors (CoG), through its chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi, dismissed a CoB report on county budget implementation during the first quarter of the 2024–25 financial year.
The report claimed that several counties did not spend any money on development between July and mid-September and accused them of operating hundreds of undisclosed bank accounts, which CoB Margaret Nyakango said were being used to mask irregular expenditure.
County officials maintain that timely and fair fund disbursement remains crucial to the success of devolved governance and the delivery of essential services to citizens.
by STEPHEN ASTARIKO
