Counties to pay civil servants this month

From left: Governors Ken Lusaka (Bungoma), Isaac Ruto (Bomet) and Patrick Khaemba (Trans Nzoia). Making the announcement, Governors Council chairman Isaac Ruto accused sections the national government of trying to derail devolution and warned of a legal battle. Photo/FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Thursday, August 1  2013 at  21:21

In Summary

• To assist counties handle their payrolls, the Transition Authority convinced the Treasury to deploy four financial officers to each county. Mr Ruto spoke against the backdrop of a debate over the ability of counties to carry out functions stipulated in the Constitution.

Counties will start paying salaries of civil servants seconded from the national government at the end of this month.

Making the announcement, Governors Council chairman Isaac Ruto accused sections the national government of trying to derail devolution and warned of a legal battle.

Mr Ruto, the Bomet governor, said the national government had been paying salaries of civil servants in the counties because the Sh210 billion allocated to them had not been disbursed.

“We are going to take over the payrolls at the end of August immediately after the funds are disbursed. We let the government pay this month because no money had been transferred to the counties,” he said by phone.

He said the counties had been surviving on a “few coins” from the Transition Authority.

To assist counties handle their payrolls, the Transition Authority convinced the Treasury to deploy four financial officers to each county. Mr Ruto spoke against the backdrop of a debate over the ability of counties to carry out functions stipulated in the Constitution.

Health workers have already protested against deployment to counties, demanding to remain under the national government.


On Wednesday, Cabinet Secretaries for National Treasury, Devolution, Energy and Health struck a deal with Parliament’s Budget Committee to divert funds allocated to counties to the Rural Electrification Authority and construction and maintenance of rural and urban roads.

This was based on the argument that the roads and power agencies were not allocated funds in the budget.

However, Mr Ruto accused the Cabinet secretaries and MPs of violating the constitutional division of functions, saying only roads in Class A and B fell under the national government.

He was more surprised by the decision of MPs who he claimed wanted to play a role in the management of roads.

“The national government handles national trunk roads which are Class A and B. If there is any road in Class C that fall under the trunk roads, they should tell us. There is nothing the national government can do with the other classes of roads which fall under counties,” he said.

“ It is surprising that MPs also want to participate in road management. They should know that they cannot do what they have not been assigned by the Constitution,” he said.

The Bomet governor claimed that some senior people in the national government were against the full implementation of devolution, triggering a contest between the two levels of government.

A team of governors is set to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto and heads commissions involved in devolution next week to iron out the differences.

“This is why we have been saying that there are certain elements within the national government who are out to derail the process of devolution. There are issues which we have serious contention with the national government and we want them ironed out,” he said.