Waiguru urges governors to back new revenue-sharing plan

Council of Governors Vice-Chairperson Anne Waiguru on Friday cautioned her colleagues against opposing the revenue sharing formula proposed by the Commission on Revenue Authority (CRA).

On Thursday, leaders of counties in northern Kenya said they will ask Parliament to reject the policy as it will be detrimental to their regions.

Mandera Governor Ali Roba, the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) chairman, said the policy is discriminatory.

"CRA does not clearly give the basis of the parameters through which they reached the revenue-sharing formula, and instead largely use population as the basic denominator, assuming that all the 47 counties have the same level of development."

Similarly, leaders from the coastal region said the formula goes against the spirit of devolution.

Governors Hassan Joho (Mombasa) and Amason Kingi (Kilifi) said the proposals, now at the public participation stage, are unfair to the six Coast counties.

EQUITY

But Ms Waiguru said that the formula attempts to balance inequalities in resource distribution, and that the matter requires informed discussions.

"It is not perfect, but it does address issues that affect the Kenyan citizen from a service delivery context. It affirms the need to deal with equitable development.

"The debate on county revenue allocation requires deliberation devoid of unnecessary sabre-rattling and demeaning characterisations," she said.

The Kirinyaga governor added that the matter will be resolved by the Senate.

CENSUS

On the forthcoming census, she said she is confident the process will provide credible results.

She urged leaders to refrain from divisive remarks. "While leaders can naturally express their views on these issues, they would do the country a good service by toning down any incendiary rhetoric, and recognising that Kenyan resources are meant to target all Kenyans equally," she said.