Opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday accused the national government of undermining devolution. Speaking in Siaya County, Raila warned he would capitalise on the high cost of living and the national government’s failure to release money to counties to bring down the Kenya Kwanza government.

Accompanied by Siaya governor James Orengo, Senator Dr Oburu Oginga, Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi and Siaya Speaker George Okode, the opposition leader told off the Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang’o for faulting the county government’s use of resources allocated to them.

Raila instead blamed the national government for failing to release the monies to the county governments on time in order to enable them initiate development projects.

“The state has no business holding funds meant for counties. We shall use every means to push for early release of funds,” said Raila.

According to a report released by Nyakang’o, the 47 counties spent Sh60.3 billion on salaries and allowances and a paltry Sh6.9 billion on development, representing 3.7 per cent of the total allocation.

She said counties sunk billions of shillings in non-priority projects such as large sums on sitting allowances for MCAs, domestic and foreign travel, car loans and mortgages and landscaping and beautification of buildings.

Development initiatives

She said 10 counties diverted all allocated funds to paying salaries and allowances and running operations. She was also concerned over some of the Governors who do not have development initiatives.

Nairobi is one of the counties on the CoB radar for spending nil on development despite a Sh14 billion allocation. Other counties that recorded zero development included Embu, Machakos, Wajir Homa Bay, Kericho, Kilifi, Samburu, Turkana and West Pokot.

Orengo on his part said delays in the release of the funds meant that county governments had little or no time at all to initiate any development projects.

Speaking at Kolalo Grounds in Ugunja after presiding over the ground-breaking of Sh47 million ring road project, Raila said the state is starving counties by failing to release resources in time.

“I am the father of Devolution and beneficiaries of the devolved units are all Kenyans so we shall not let the ruling government scuttle our endeavor to have Kenyans reap the fruits of devolution,” Raila charged.

Raila said that he brought devolution and fought for it to thrive so as to end under-development in the regions. He noted that previously, the government had devolved government structures but failed to release the resources, forcing Kenyans to push for devolution.