County governors have called an emergency council meeting to address growing concerns over significant budget cuts proposed by the National Treasury. The governors argue that the reductions will severely impact donor-funded projects critical to development and service delivery in the counties. The meeting, scheduled for Friday, aims to present a unified front as tensions rise between county governments and the national legislature.
At the heart of the dispute is the exclusion of the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) from the budget. The RMLF, funded by fuel levies, is crucial for road construction and maintenance, which fall under county jurisdiction. Council of Governors (CoG) Chair Ahmed Abdullahi, who is also the Governor of Wajir, revealed that the only agreement reached with Members of Parliament (MPs) was to exclude the RMLF due to an ongoing court case. However, MPs have gone further by completely removing allocations to the fund, a move the governors strongly oppose.
Governor Abdullahi has called on the Senate to reject the proposed budget and push for revisions that reflect prior agreements. He emphasized that counties have a right to access the RMLF, given their responsibility for road construction. “We are asking the Senate not to accept this bill. We are asking the Senate to pass the one that we had agreed on,” he stated.
The budget cuts extend beyond the RMLF, affecting several donor-funded projects. Key programs such as the Kenya Informal Settlements Improvement Project (KISIP) have seen their funding slashed from Ksh 10.4 billion to Ksh 1.7 billion. Similarly, the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) grant has been reduced from Ksh 4.9 billion to Ksh 2.586 billion. Other projects, including the Water and Sanitation Development Programme (WSDP) and the Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP II), have also faced drastic cuts.
The governors’ meeting is expected to take a firm stance, with some issues already discussed at the highest levels of government. As the standoff intensifies, the executive branch has stepped in to mediate, but the outcome remains uncertain. The governors’ unified response could determine the fate of critical development projects across the country.
