Before you vote: the truth about county budgets

Chairman council of Governors and Meru Governor Peter Munya (speaking) is flanked by other Governors in a press conference after they held an extra-ordinary meeting on drought situation in the country, Doctors strike and division of revenue bill at councils offices in Nairobi, Kenya on Monday, 06 February 2017. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP.

“Governors may go to the new financial year without budgets in place, stagnating development and leading to chaotic transition process. The constitution obligates counties to develop  Budgets  after the approval of the Division of Revenue Bill by Parliament”
– Meru Governor and Outgoing Chair of the Council of Governors, Mr Peter Munya, during his State of Devolution Address on May 22, 2017.


Meru Governor Peter Munya was expressing concern at the delay by Parliament in passing the Division of Revenue Bill and the County Revenue Allocation Bill, which must be passed before counties can pass a budget. If the Bills are delayed, county governments risk not having a budget to implement after the election.

Article 224 of the Constitution says:

“On the basis of the Division of Revenue Bill passed by Parliament under Article 218, each county government shall prepare and adopt its own annual budget and appropriation Bill in the form, and according to the procedure, prescribed in an Act of Parliament.”

According to the Constitution, there are two Bills which pertain to the division of funds between national government and the counties.

The Division of Revenue Bill specifies how funds are divided between the national government and the county governments, while the County Allocation of Revenue Bill divides the funds received through the Division of Revenue Bill among the counties.

Although a county could, in theory, create a budget based on the previous year’s allocation, and make up the difference once the Division of Revenue Bill and the Allocation of County Revenue Bill are passed through a supplementary budget, such a step would not work if the allocation were reduced by Parliament, which the counties have been complaining about. It would also not be in compliance with Article 224 of the Constitution. So Governor Munya’s claim is true