Senators train guns on Mbadi over repeated delays in releasing funds to counties

Senators have trained their guns on National Treasury CS John Mbadi over the never-ending delays in releasing funds to the counties.

This came amid revelations the Treasury has yet to release more than Sh65.84 billion to the devolved units for March and April.

On Tuesday, the Treasury released Sh15.1 billion to complete the disbursement for February, following the release of the first tranche of Sh17.82 billion on Monday last week.

Speaking during a press briefing at the Senate Liaison Committee retreat, the lawmakers vowed to summon Mbadi quarterly in a bid to safeguard service delivery and protect counties from financial paralysis.

Led by Deputy Speaker Kathuri Murungi, the senators reckoned that Treasury’s failure to release funds on time had left counties unable to pay salaries or deliver basic services.

“Last week, the Treasury CS appeared before the National Assembly and made commitments regarding the disbursement of NG-CDF funds,” Murungi said.

“Likewise, we will summon him to the Senate every quarter to ensure counties receive their rightful share, without delay.”.

The comments came amid growing discontent among county governments and senators over stalled development projects and mounting wage arrears.

The Liaison Committee is a powerful House panel that consists of all the chairs of the committees and is chaired by the deputy speaker.

The Treasury has been erratic in disbursement, often falling behind several months, disrupting the provision of crucial services, including payment of salaries.

Last November, governors warned of a total shutdown of services if delayed disbursement of sharable revenue persisted.

Council of Governors chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi said counties had not received their equitable allocation more than five months into the 2024-25 financial year.

“We demand that the National Treasury immediately releases the funds owed to counties; failing which, county governments will have no choice but to shut down operations completely,” he said.

Section 17 of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, 2012, obligates the Treasury to release an equitable share of revenues to counties by the 15th of every month.

That’s never the case.

The Treasury has often blamed perennial under-collection of revenue by the Kenya Revenue Authority, competing funding needs and huge public debt for the delayed release of funds to counties.

The members of the Senate Liaison Committee and the secretariat are on a retreat in Mombasa county to reflect on legislative performance, induct new chairpersons and chart a strategic path forward.

In February, the Senate reconstituted the membership and leadership of House committees, kicking out former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s allies and accommodating Raila Odinga’s.

Held under the theme “Sustaining Excellence in Committee Service Delivery through Synergy, Agility, and Innovation”, the retreat highlighted the Senate’s evolving oversight agenda and the need for a stronger, better-resourced committee system.

Murungi praised the Senate’s committee structure as its “engine room” responsible for driving legislative scrutiny, budget accountability and citizen representation.

He highlighted notable achievements in the Third Session, including the successful Mediation Committee—which he co-chaired—that led to an increase in county revenue allocations from Sh391.117 billion to Sh400.1 billion.

“The Liaison Committee is not merely administrative—it is profoundly strategic. We determine which issues are prioritised, which reports are debated and how resources are apportioned. In doing so, we shape the Senate’s legacy as a champion of devolution,” Murungi said.

The retreat also served as a platform to induct newly elected committee chairpersons and foster collaboration across committees.

The two-day retreat aimed to evaluate Senate committee performance, identify operational gaps and strategies on the challenges of limited resources, complex legislative workloads and rising public expectations.