Deal on revenue share for counties welcome
By Editorial.Team, February 20, 2023That the National and County governments have resolved the deadlock on sharing of revenue is welcome given that there are many projects that will now be funded for the benefit of the public in the next financial year.
When counties spend on both development and recurrent expenditures, they increase the flow of money in the economy, which has major ripple effects on the lives and livelihoods of citizens, both in terms of earnings and accesses to services such as health and education.
The challenge ahead now is for county leaders to ensure that once Parliament approves the payouts, the money allocated to them will be spent prudently and to the benefit of the public. They should also prioritise critical areas such as provision of water given that many counties have been ravaged by drought over the last two years.
It is perennially disheartening to read the reports of the auditor-general raising questions about suspect spending or loss of billions of shillings in tax money allocated to counties.
There needs to be sanctions against governors, county staff and others who either embezzle or misappropriate these allocations. Going forward, those handling tax money should know that there will be painful consequences for abetting loss or theft.
Similarly, there is need to strengthen oversight to ensure that only deserving projects are funded and that the public gets value for money. Oversight has been the weak link in the public supply chain management and loopholes left by the law or greed have conspired to deny financial justice to citizens. It is, therefore, important, for senators to ramp up their oversight role especially if funds for this role are eventually approved as envisaged.
Lastly, there is need for both national and county governments to agree early on the formula to be used to ensure that the process does not become either too protracted or causes animosity between the respective officials. All ought to be reminded that they are meant to work in public interest. As such, no one should feel more entitled than the other while no one should also seen to retaining a disproportionately larger chunk of the revenue. The aim of the talks should be to achieve win-win outcomes for both the national and devolved governments and, ultimately, for the public.
The ball is now in Parliament’s court and it is expected that the two Houses will agree on the allocations when the time to debate them comes.