Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has voiced his frustrations with the disbursement of the equalisation fund, which are meant to benefit the marginalized areas in the country. The Governor has said his County hasn’t been included in the roll, citing a dubious reason, “Kakamega wasn’t included in this when all the Counties around Kakamega County have benefited,” said Oparanya.
Speaking to the press after a meeting between Governors and the Commission on Revenue Allocation in Nairobi, Oparanya said the reason given is that Kakamega County is more developed than other Counties, “If I’ve sustained development in Kakamega for the last six years, why should I be penalized for that? Yet those who’ve slept on their jobs are being given money,” he said. He further revealed that he’ll petition the issue to the CRA, “If they don’t sort this out then we’ll take the issue to court.”
Moreover, the Governor said problems have been witnessed in the issue of audited accounts, “We’re still suing 2013/2014 accounts which show that revenue form the national government is about Kshs 900 billion, yet we know now the government gets around Kshs 1.6 trillion,” he said, adding that County governments are getting a smaller chunk of funds supply due to a lack of audited accounts. The meeting between Governors and the CRA was called to discuss the revenue sharing formula till 2023/2024.