By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU ashiundu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Saturday, February 25 2012 at 19:35
Posted Saturday, February 25 2012 at 19:35
The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) will on Tuesday unveil its proposed formula for sharing out revenue between and among county and national governments.
Speaking to the Sunday Nation on Saturday, the CRA chairman, Mr Micah Cheserem, said his team had finally agreed on the criteria to be used in devolving the resources to the grassroots.
He said the commission will meet tomorrow to put the final touches to the proposals ahead of their public release.
But Mr Cheserem remained tight-lipped on the details of the recommendation. “It is like the national budget. You don’t release it in bits, you release it once,” Mr Cheserem said. “It is a ground-breaking formula.”
Mr George Ooko, the commission secretary, said the proposals would form “the basis of equitable sharing of revenue raised by national government, between the national government and county governments, and among county governments”.
“The formula is in line with the Constitution’s desire to achieve an efficient public sector through fiscal decentralisation that guarantees efficient allocation of revenue and resources in an equitable manner,” he noted in a dispatch to media houses.
The formula will then be tabled in Parliament for approval as per the Constitution.
But, as the commission prepares to release the report, it will have to contend with brewing discontent over some underlying issues such as the contest over the census figures and the long-running political battles over the poverty levels in different parts of the country. (READ: Population revised to 37.7 million)
The preliminary formula had identified counties with big populations to receive the lion’s share of the Sh150 billion — 15 per cent of the national budget at current rates — that is to be allocated to the county governments.
That formula, which Mr Cheserem said could still be revised in the Monday meeting, had picked population size as a major determinant of where between half and two-thirds of the amount (an average of Sh90 billion) will go.
As per the Constitution, at least 15 per cent of the amount will be shared equally among all the 47 counties. Another 10 to 20 per cent of the amount will be determined by poverty levels, the CRA has said.
It had also proposed to have poverty levels account for between Sh15 billion and Sh30 billion, while between Sh20 billion and Sh30 billion would be shared equally among various counties.
Two other factors, albeit with lower rates, are size of the area and prudent management of funds, both of which will account for no more than 10 per cent of the cash.
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