Following a long impasse between the Senate and the National Assembly on the Division of Revenue, the Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya has said Counties will grant to a halt from 16th September if the revenue division conundrum won’t be solved. The Division of Revenue Bill 2019 received strong opposition, especially from Governors and Senators who want more money to be allocated to Counties, Kshs 335 billion. However, the national government has stuck to its guns, at Kshs 316 billion, with President Uhuru Kenyatta insisting the government doesn’t have more money, and the Counties should use the available resources well.
On Thursday, Oparanya said some Counties haven’t paid their workers their salaries for the past two months and Counties will have to shut down beginning September 16th, “We regret that some Counties have not been able to pay salaries and we want to tell our employees to be prepared to go without salaries if this matter is not resolved by September 16th,” said the Kakamega Governor. County workers in select Counties proceeded on a go slow due to the unpaid wages, something which affected County services.
The Supreme Court called for mediation talks to proceed and an update on the same, but the 18-member team has so far found it hard to find a solution. The latest round of talks on Wednesday, bringing some MPs and Senators together, failed to start after Senators failed to raise quorum.