The battle for funds pitting the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and City Hall has taken a new turn after the government set up a special account to facilitate payments.
Under the new plan, the NMS will receive funds directly from the Special Purpose Account which will be domiciled at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
This is part of a plan developed by the National Treasury so as to reduce dependence on the County Revenue Fund (CRF) account.
This comes in the midst of a stalemate on the transfer of funds from the county to the service.
NMS was in June 2020, allocated Ksh27.9 billion by the National Treasury for its operations in the financial year 2020/2021.
However, Governor Mike Sonko refused to assent to the Nairobi City County Appropriations Bill, 2020, that had allocated Ksh 27.1 billion to NMS for transferred functions, namely health, transport, public works, and housing.
In a recent development, the high court ordered the embattled governor to halt the payment to the General Mohammed Badi-led organisation.
In his ruling, the judge maintained that the funds should not be released until a case filed by Governor Sonko's government challenging the allocation of the funds to NMS is heard and determined.
"A conservatory order suspending the implementation of the Nairobi City County Appropriation Act, 2020, is hereby issued. For clarity, the 11th and 14th respondents are restrained from disbursing any funds on the basis of the Nairobi City County Appropriation Act, 2020. The order shall be in force for 10 days," High Court Judge Anthony Charo Mrima ruled.
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani had earlier declined a request by the Major General Mohammed Badi-led office to release the funds until the dispute between the agency and Governor Mike Sonko is resolved.
He stated that there was no legal framework in place to facilitate such a transaction and that the funds could only be remitted to the Nairobi County Government (NCCG) Revenue Fund Account and not to NMS.
