Eight governors from the North Rift Economic Bloc (Noreb) have been forced to put on hold key infrastructural projects worth billions of shillings owing to the delay by the National Treasury to release money to counties.

They accused the government of scheming to sabotage devolution by starving counties of money to implement the projects they promised the electorate.

Speaking in Eldoret town yesterday, Noreb chair and  Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago took issue with the acting National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani, saying he was a big letdown in ensuring devolution works.

Flagship projects the counties have halted due to financial woes include road works.

Mandago said counties were unable to carry out rehabilitation of feeder roads and construction of new ones. 

This follows the destruction of several road networks particularly in highly productive areas after the recent heavy rains that also resulted in loss of lives and property in the region.

“We have put on hold key flagship projects we had budgeted for in the 2019/20 financial year plan in our counties such as roads due to delayed disbursement of money by the National Treasury,” he said. 

Pay salaries

“Yatani has been a governor and he should be in a position to understand the financial predicament we are going through instead of pretending not to know the difficult situation we are facing in counties,” Mandago added.

The governor said some counties in the region have not paid salaries to their employees or remitted statutory deductions of their staff to saccos.