Cheserem names 14 counties to benefit from equalisation budget
Chairman of the Commission on Revenue Allocation Micah Cheserem. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) said it considered its own internal survey of how counties were marginalised, came up with a County Development Index and analysed historical injustices to arrive at the 14 counties that would draw from the fund.
Less than a third of the 47 counties will benefit from the Sh3 billion Equalisation Fund with Turkana County taking the largest share in the next three years.
The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) said it considered its own internal survey of how counties were marginalised, came up with a County Development Index and analysed historical injustices to arrive at the 14 counties that would draw from the fund.
“The CDI is complemented by two other approaches, namely expert analysis on historical and legislative discrimination and results of the Commission’s county marginalisation survey,” CRA commissioner Joseph Kimura said.
The Index, a composite measure constructed from health, education, infrastructure and poverty indicators in a county, would account for half of the allocations with the rest being shared equally.
Although about 20 counties were found to be in need of catch-up funds, CRA said it selected the 14 because the resources would have been spread too thinly to have the desired impact.
The Equalisation Fund is pegged at 0.5 per cent of the last audited national revenue, in this case the Sh831 billion collected in the 2010/2011 financial year.
The money is allocated to counties needing extra resources to provide basic services like water, roads, health and electricity until they are close to those of other counties.
Under the criteria released Wednesday by CRA chairman Micah Cheserem, Turkana will receive Sh271 million while Lamu county will get Sh186 million annually.
Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit, Samburu, West Pokot, Tana River, Narok, Kwale, Garissa, Kilifi, Taita Taveta and Isiolo would receive between Sh249 million and Sh192 million each annually before the formula is reviewed in 2016.
Mr Cheserem said the commission would make the recommendations to Parliament for consideration before the House passes a Bill appropriating money out of the Fund.
The fund is established under Article 204 of the Constitution and calculated on the basis of the most recent audited accounts of revenue received as approved by the National Assembly.
Under the law, the Equalisation Fund should be used to the extent necessary to bring the quality of services in marginalised areas to the level generally enjoyed by the rest of the nation.
Widespread poverty
Prof Kimura said all the 47 counties where the commission conducted the survey considered themselves marginalised.
Prof Raphael Munavu, a CRA member, said nearly half of the counties lacked basic services such as water, electricity, roads, education and health facilities.
“There is widespread poverty and illiteracy. Out of the 47 counties, 17 have poverty gaps above national average while 20 have poverty gaps below national average,” he said.
Baringo, Kwale, Siaya, Kisumu, Kitui, Bungoma, Isiolo, Meru, Busia, Kajiado, Garissa, Trans Nzoia, Tana River, West Pokot, Taita Taveta, Narok, Samburu, Mandera, Marsabit, Wajir and Turkana counties had literacy levels below national average.
Pockets of poverty and marginalisation were also found in cities such as Nairobi, he said.
CRA proposed that the equalisation fund be appropriated in a single budget line instead of the sectors under the Medium Term Expenditure Framework as conditional grants to marginalised counties.
