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The Inter-Governmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) yesterday established a committee to advise on the amount of revenue to be allocated to counties. Speaking after talks with the Council of Governors, Commission for Revenue Allocation, the National Treasury and top officials from both levels of government at the Kenya School of Government, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said the team would give its feedback in a week.

The Council of Governors requested for Sh425 billion while the Commission on Revenue Allocation recommended Sh407 billion. On the other hand, the Treasury proposed to raise the allocation from Sh370 billion in 2021 to Sh380.4 billion in 2023/2024 budget.

“A committee has been constituted to hold further discussions and come up with a solution in a week as to the exact amount that will be agreed on,” Gachagua, who is also the chair of IBEC, said. He added that  President William Ruto would meet governors next month to thrash out pending issues between the two levels of government.

During the meeting, the government also promised to remit royalties gained from mining activities in counties. While 70 per cent of royalties are retained by the national government, 20 per cent goes to counties and 10 per cent is shared with local communities.