Governors accuse national government of undermining devolution

The Council of Governors (COG) has accused President William Ruto’s administration of undermining devolution through indirect means.

According to the Governors, significant budget cuts and delayed disbursements are being used as financial constraints to weaken county governments.

They have warned of a nationwide shutdown of county services unless the National Treasury reverses its decision to reallocate Sh38 billion from their funds.

This impasse has rekindled tensions between Kenya’s national and county governments, sparking concerns that the devolution framework—one of the key achievements of the 2010 Constitution—is at risk.

In an interview with The Standard yesterday, a group of Governors expressed deep concern, characterizing the national government’s actions as a deliberate effort to cripple service delivery.

COG Vice Chairman Mutahi Kahiga insisted that the Sh38.4 billion budget cut is not an isolated incident but part of a broader, ongoing strategy to weaken devolution.

“It is becoming increasingly apparent that these systematic budgetary cuts are designed to cripple county governments, hindering effective service delivery, and ultimately discredit and kill the devolved system of governance,” said the Nyeri Governor.

The disputed funds include Sh24 billion in conditional grants from international donors, designated for essential projects such as healthcare improvements, agricultural development, fisheries, water systems, road networks, slum upgrading, and infrastructure expansion.

The COG has criticized the national government for handling devolution dismissively, citing the Treasury’s argument that counties lack the capacity to absorb these additional funds in the 2025/2026 financial year.

“By purposefully underfunding county governments, the national government is creating a crisis, only to turn around and put counties on the spot for failing to deliver essential services,” said COG.

Devolution was designed to decentralize power and resources, ensuring counties receive adequate funding to address local needs.

The COG has now turned to the Senate, the constitutional guardian of devolution, urging it to block the budget cuts and safeguard the progress made since 2013.

This appeal comes just weeks after President Ruto and ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga signed a memorandum on February 24, committing to the protection of devolution.

The MoU emphasized that devolution must be safeguarded against any rollback of devolved functions, with a focus on fully devolving funds tied to these functions, increasing county budget allocations, and ensuring timely and predictable disbursements.

However, the Governors argue that these commitments have yet to be reflected in action.

The COG has also called for the immediate release of Sh78.03 billion in equitable share funds for January, February, and March.