West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo has faulted the current formula being used by the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) in the allocation of devolution funds and called for a proper adjustment to improve County allocations.
Speaking at the Kapenguria Polytechnic during a graduation ceremony, the West Pokot Governor said the current methods used by the commission to allocate funds aren’t favourable to some Counties. “We are struggling to accomplish and carry out projects,” he said. He added that more money is needed in devolved departments that cater for agriculture, health and roads.
He said the national government has remained with the bulk of funds that aren’t used anywhere, “Kshs 80 billion meant for the health department is in Nairobi, without any allotment,” he said, adding that agriculture funds in Counties like Nairobi are rarely used.
The West Pokot Governor said CRA should roll out poverty assessment in all Counties to ascertain the needs of each County. He further urged the CRA to increase funding for marginalized Counties to improve infrastructure and help in poverty eradication. He noted that the funds distributed to West Pokot won’t be able to cater for the County’s needs since the region was once a closed district and no meaningful projects were set up there by the past governments.
He said service delivery in some Counties has also been affected by the poor disbursements, “The current formula doesn’t reflect the real problems facing Counties since most of the Counties haven’t received enough funds allocation to facilitate service delivery by County governments.”