Governors seek law review to protect deals with Treasury

Governors are seeking a review of law to compel the national government to honour agreements reached between the two levels of government.

The Council of Governors (CoG) chairman Josphat Nanok told Senate that a proposal that the county chiefs have made on the matter will avert future conflicts if adopted by Parliament.

The move comes hot on the heels of a recent clash between governors and the national government over allocations for maintenance of roads in counties which the counties insist should be increased from 15 to 20 per cent of the road levy funds.

According to the Division of Revenue Bill 2018 passed by the National Assembly, devolved units will receive Sh8.3 billion, which is 15 per cent of the Road Maintenance Fuel Levy Fund.

“The entire Intergovernmental Act needs to be relooked at because the more we wait, the more we will continue to experience friction between us,” he told the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget on Wednesday.

READ: Governors to seek Treasury nod for new taxes

Mr Nanok said it was unfair that the national government should go against agreements reached at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council chaired by Deputy President William Ruto.

During the meeting, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure was tasked with consulting the CoG on how the allocation would be shared among the 47 counties.

Mr Nanok said the CoG had requested 25 per cent of the roads levy fund but upon negotiation the figure settled on at the meeting was 20 per cent.

“We feel very much slighted by Treasury and the Ministry of Transport for making us sign an agreement then go ahead and ignore it,” he said.