President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday signed into law the Equitable Division of Revenue Bill for 2018/2019 financial year.
The Bill – signed at State House, Nairobi – provides for the equitable division of revenue raised nationally between the National and County governments.
The Constitution provides for the vertical (equitable) sharing of revenue raised nationally between the two levels of government.
Article 202 of the Constitution, also provides for additional allocations to the county governments from the national government’s share of revenue.
[caption caption="File Photo of President Uhuru Kenyatta with Governors"]
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These allocations can either be conditional (conditional grants) or unconditional.
The Bill was presented to the President for signing by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi.
Also present were Attorney General Paul Kihara Kariuki, Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto and Assistant to the National Assembly Clerk, James Njoroge Mwangi.
The counties’ Ksh329 billion allocation for the 2017-18 financial year was supposed to be released in July but there was a delay.
This hampered progress in most counties, with governors threatening to sue the state. Counties were supposed to receive Ksh77.4 Billion in the first quarter.
Treasury CS Henry Rotich denied the blame, noting there were contradictions between the disbursement schedule and the County Allocation of Revenue Act.
The Council of Governors chairman Josephat Nanok had demanded an urgent resolution of the impasse and accused the national government of holding county operations to ransom.
[caption caption="Uhuru Kenyatta After Signing the Bill into Law"]
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