Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua Thursday told off governors over their demand to have the counties allocation increased to Sh425 billion.
He said the government does not have the money they want.
Speaking during the MPs’ Post-Election Seminar in Mombasa on Thursday, Gachagua went bare knuckles on the governors saying the government is broke and unable to meet their demands.
The government could only afford to allocate between Sh380 and Sh385 billion which is about Sh40 billion less than their demands.
“They are asking for Sh425 billion, SRC is saying that in our scheme of mathematics, you can give Sh407 billion. The national government is saying that is good, Sh407 billion is even better, we can give it to you but we don’t have it, we only have 380 billion,” Gachagua said.
“So, if you want to hang us, we are helpless, If you want to remove our trousers and whip us on the buttocks, go ahead, we don’t have the money! We say the truth.”
“What we don’t want to do is to cheat governors that we will give them money which we don’t have,” he said.
He cited the tough economy as he made a comparison with former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime which he said had difficulties disbursing only Sh50 billion to counties, insisting they (Governors) should not expect President William Ruto to pay higher than the budget allocation.
“They were promised Sh50 billion but it never came. We are having problems giving them their disbursements every month, we are three months behind. So we are asking them, if what was in the budget, Sh370 billion, we are unable to give you, to give you Sh425 billion will just be a lie,” he said.
He told Senators to be fair while legislating on budget allocation and appropriation in order to ensure they do not burden the taxpayers.
“We have no Sh425 billion or Sh407 billion to give to the governors, we will try to give Sh385 billion but we are not promising.
“When the matter finally comes before you, please look at all factors on what is possible and what is not possible.”
“You are responsible elected leaders, so make a fair decision,” he said.
The remarks by Gachagua come a day after Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa, who is the Chairperson of CoG’s Finance, Planning, and Economic Affairs committee, urged the government to disburse Sh425 billion in a bid to facilitate service delivery to counties.
