President Kenyatta claimed Kilifi County got Sh40bn over four and a half years. Not true

President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses wananchi at the Kilifi Sports Ground | LABAN WALLOGA

Did Kilifi County receive Sh9.6 every year from the national government?

“It is unbelievable that Sh9.6 billion is dispatched to Kilifi County every financial year and yet Governor Amason Kingi has no development project to show for these resources,” said President Kenyatta…For four and a half years he has received more than Sh40 billion through his hands. If only he was a bit just, and say that because of hunger facing my  people, he’d give out Sh2 billion, to put up dams and irrigation, would we be talking about hunger today?... The governors who will be jailed after August 8 are many, and yours is one of them.”

-          President Uhuru Kenyatta in Kilifi on July 18, 2017

President Uhuru Kenyatta was speaking during his tour of Kilifi County on July 18, 2017. He claimed that Sh9.6 billion has been sent by the National Government to Kilifi every year and that the county had received more than 40 billion.

The National Government allocates revenue to individual counties through the County Allocation of Revenue Bill.

The Bill allocates three streams of funding. The first is the equitable share based on recommendations by the Commission for Revenue Allocation. This is the funding stream where the county government has discretion.

The second consists of conditional grants given by the national government, for specific purposes such as maternal healthcare, level five hospitals road maintenance. County governments have little discretion on the use of this money which is largely tied to particular purposes.

The third, which is not given by the national government, consists of conditional grants given by foreign governments or international organisations, which likewise has certain conditions attached.

According to County Allocation of Revenue Acts, in 2013/2014, Kilifi County received Sh5.44 billion in equitable share and Sh378 million in conditional grants for a total of Sh5.82 billion. In 2014/2015, the county received Sh6.49billion in equitable share and Sh143 million in conditional grants for a total of Sh6.63 billion.

CONDITIONAL GRANTS

In 2015/2016, Kilifi County received Sh7.44 billion in equitable share and Sh393 million in conditional grants for a total of Sh7.83 billion.

 Last year, the county received Sh8.03 billion in equitable share and Sh427 million in conditional grants, for a total of Sh8.46 billion. In 2017/2018, Kilifi County received Sh9.95 billion in equitable share and Sh507 million in conditional grants, meaning the county received Sh10.46 billion in total from the National Government.

President Kenyatta claimed that Kilifi County received more than Sh40 billion over four and a half years, not five. If we halve the 2017/2018 allocation to reflect his claim, only a total of Sh34 billion is available to Kilifi County over four and a half years.

Given that conditional grants from the national government are tied to particular uses such as maternal health and road maintenance, county governments only have discretion in the use of the Equitable Share.

This means only Sh27.4 billion was available for Kilifi County to use according to the county government’s plans over four and a half years, which is less, not more, than Sh40 billion as President Kenyatta claimed.

President Kenyatta’s first claim, that the county government received Sh9.6 billion every year is false. It is only in 2017/2018 that the county government received more than Sh9 billion in equitable share and conditional grants combined from the national government, and that year begun in July which means much of that money remains unspent.