Counties call on Ruto over Sh78 billion funding gap and health staff transfer

The Council of Governors (CoG) is demanding an urgent meeting with President William Ruto to resolve rising tensions between the national and county governments.

The key issues include the planned transfer of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff to counties without guaranteed funding and ongoing delays in county fund disbursements.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale recently announced that the payroll for UHC staff would be moved to counties starting July 1, 2025. He stated the national government lacks funds to absorb these workers on permanent contracts.

However, governors say this transfer is premature as the staff’s contracts with the national government run until next year and the necessary funds to cover their salaries have not been provided.

Speaking after a lengthy council meeting on Monday, CoG chairperson and Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdulahi criticized Duale’s push to fast-track the transfer without adequate resources.

"The national government continues to disrespect constitutional provisions with respect to the implementation of policies that they want undertaken by the counties," he said.

Abdulahi explained that during emergencies like COVID-19, the national government should have provided conditional grants to counties to hire health workers rather than employ them directly.

The UHC staff have protested at the Ministry of Health and Parliament, demanding permanent employment or payment of gratuity for their six years of service.

Governors warn that counties absorbing these workers without sufficient funding would be financially risky.

"What we are seeing here is, the CS (Duale) is trying to transfer his problem to us because if the UHCs that are at work are not funded in perpetuity, the moment the contract ends, they will start demanding that counties absorb them. All we are saying is, where is the money to absorb them?" Abdulahi posed.

The governors insist they will only take over the staff if there is an increase in the county equitable share to cover salaries at the same level as other county-employed health workers.

They also demand that the national government clear outstanding gratuity payments before the transfer happens.

CoG’s Health Committee chairperson Muthomi Njuki urged the Ministry of Health to fully address the UHC staff’s concerns before handing over responsibility to counties.

 "Therefore, our position is to let the ministry keep the payroll as long as it does not provide the prerequisite resources in the equitable share to be able to pay for these staff onward," he said.

Besides health issues, the governors are challenging the national government’s recent donation of surveillance vehicles.

They argue that procurement of vehicles is a county mandate and that handing over vehicles bought by the national government complicates insurance and management.

"Insurance companies pay the owner - in this case the national government - it becomes almost impossible to insure a vehicle that is under national government because it's not our vehicle," Njuki added.

County leaders also raised concerns about persistent funding shortfalls. Abdulahi disclosed that despite requesting Sh536 billion for the 2025-26 financial year, the National Treasury allocated only Sh405 billion.

Furthermore, counties are owed about Sh78.94 billion from delayed payments covering March, April, and May.

"Additionally, over a week has passed since the signing of the County Government's Additional Allocations Act, 2025, but funds are yet to be disbursed," he noted.

The Council of Governors wants President Ruto to honor his commitment to fully fund devolved functions and address these growing challenges to avoid further friction between the two levels of government.