Editorials

EDITORIAL: Stop delaying release of equalisation funds

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The Treasury should ensure that it follows the law and releases the funds accordingly. FILE PHOTO | NMG

When Kenyans voted for promulgation of the new Constitution in 2010 their main motivation was to ensure that all parts of the country equally benefited from the national cake.

Before that, there had been complaints that the national government had ignored some regions since Independence

And when the devolved units finally took off following the 2013 General Election, there were high hopes that finally there would be equitable distribution of resources across the board.

However, five years later that is yet to be fulfilled and what Kenyans have been witnessing from the 47 counties are not tales about progress but rather county officials embarking on costly expenditure on remuneration or misallocation of funds at the expense of the general development of their respective counties.

Given that the counties are not equal with some being located in rich zones while others are in sparsely populated and arid regions, the Constitution came up with an equalisation fund that was aimed at providing these marginalised counties with funding to help in their growth.

The formula for allocating these counties with funds was conceived by the Commission on Revenue Allocation and was passed by Parliament.

READ: Treasury under pressure as northern counties demand Sh12bn kitty

It is therefore worrying to learn that the National Treasury has not released Sh12 billion equalisation funds that are meant for northern Kenya’s marginalised counties.

The counties have complained that they did not receive their share of the funds during the just ended 2017/18 financial year. When one visits these regions it becomes clear that more needs to be done to bring them to par with their counterparts in the country. Many of these counties lack proper roads, have no clean water or electricity.

The only way the lives of people in these can be improved is by ensuring that they benefit from the national cake.

The Treasury should ensure that it follows the law and releases the funds accordingly.

But even as the counties seek their share of the equalisation funds, they should also make sure that the money goes to the development of their respective counties. It makes no sense spending billions on salaries at the expense of core development.