Senators have castigated counties for posting dismal Own Source Revenue (OSR) despite having the potential of collecting billions of shillings to support their budgets and fund their operations.

The lawmakers argued that some counties were losing revenue running into billions due to leakages associated with systems they use.

They cited administrative inefficiency, gaps in policy, weak laws and collusion between unscrupulous county officers and cash collection firms.

The legislators yesterday reacted to the dismal performance of their OSR among the 47 counties for the financial year 2019/2020 and 2020/2021.

Led by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’, the politicians alleged that despite the devolved units having huge potential to generate enough almost 10 years into devolution, it remains untapped.

“Even as we ask for more money for county governments, we must ensure and demand accountability for OSR.

These people still continue to collect money from women in markets. They have gone ahead to militarise the process,” said Kajwang.

Kitui Senator Enock Wambua said OSR is one of the biggest problems that lie in the counties. 

Wambua says it is a problem that the Senate, perhaps even the next session, should seriously think about.