Kenya Governors Threaten to Walk Out of Revenue Talks, Call Allocation Process ”Empty Ritual”
NAIROBI — Tensions have flared between Kenya’s county governors and the national government after the Council of Governors (CoG) publicly rejected the proposed KSh405.1 billion county allocation under the 2025 Division of Revenue Bill. The governors are now threatening to boycott future negotiations, accusing the National Treasury of sidelining them in a process they say is no longer fair or meaningful.
The Division of Revenue Bill, once enacted, determines how national tax revenue is split between national and county governments each fiscal year. This year’s proposed figure by the Treasury reflects an increase of KSh17.6 billion from the current allocation of KSh387.4 billion. However, governors argue the increase falls short of what is needed to sustain devolved services.
“It will be pointless to attend such negotiations if the allocation for the 2025/2026 financial year is anything to go by,” said Council of Governors Chairperson and Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi. “As the CoG, we proposed KSh536 billion. The Treasury has stuck to KSh405 billion. That’s a KSh131 billion gap.”
According to Governor Abdullahi, counties have absorbed over 200 functions from the national government, with associated costs exceeding KSh150 billion. Despite this, he says funding has not kept pace.
“This process loses all meaning if the national government can decide allocations unilaterally. Our input must count not just fill a checklist,” he said.
The mediation process between the National Assembly and the Senate, meant to settle disagreements over the Bill, has also come under fire from the governors. They say the process merely rubber-stamps predetermined outcomes.
Historical data shows county allocations have grown, from KSh316.5 billion in FY2020/21 to KSh370 billion in FY2022/23. But governors insist the incremental growth has failed to match the cost of devolved responsibilities.
This year, the Council of Governors initially pushed for KSh465 billion. The Commission on Revenue Allocation proposed KSh417 billion. During Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) meetings, governors revised their request to KSh536 billion a move they say was completely ignored.
“At the IBEC meeting, we adjusted our expectations in good faith. Still, the Treasury never moved from its original KSh405 billion position,” Abdullahi said.
The governors also criticized the Senate, claiming it has not fulfilled its role to protect devolution. “We go before the Senate Finance and Budget Committee. But when things go wrong, they blame governors yet we’re not in the room during final mediation,” said Abdullahi.
He called on senators to adopt a unified stance and reject any figure that falls below the actual cost of transferred duties. “Settling for less than KSh150 billion worth of devolved responsibilities is unacceptable,” he said.
Governors now say their continued participation in the revenue-sharing process will depend on whether future allocations match the financial demands of county-level governance.
The Treasury has not responded publicly to the CoG’s concerns, and the mediation process on the Division of Revenue Bill 2025 remains ongoing.
