The Council of Governors (CoG) on Wednesday, October 14, questioned the neutrality of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), accusing it of acting as an appendage of the National Treasury after both bodies proposed almost the same sum for counties in the 2027/28 financial year and demanded that the allocation rise by at least Sh100 billion from the current Sh428 billion to cover inflation and rising wage costs.
The CRA has recommended Sh440.84 billion as the counties' equitable share, an increase of Sh12.84 billion, or 3%, on the current year, plus Sh10.25 billion for the Equalization Fund for marginalized areas.
It projects nationally raised shareable revenue will grow 8.12% to Sh3.24 trillion; the CRA says these are projections, not final figures.
Governors say the commission ignored the council's proposals.
They also complained that it met the National Assembly and the Senate before them, when it should have been the other way round, so it could understand counties' needs before presenting. CRA Chairperson Mary Chebukati was largely on the defensive, explaining how the commission arrived at its figure.
The CoG wants six items added to the shareable revenue:
Sh8.6 billion for Universal Health Coverage staff now absorbed by counties.
Sh2 billion for health workers' collective bargaining agreements, to avert strikes.
Sh21 billion for the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) pay increase for county staff, which governors call non-negotiable.
Sh65.97 billion for unbundled functions moved to counties while the money stayed in ministries.
Sh10 billion for transition costs ahead of the 2027 elections.
Sh30 billion to cover the CRA's assumed 5% growth in revenue collection.
By our tally, those items add up to about Sh137.6 billion, more than the "at least Sh100 billion" governors quoted.
The CRA and the Treasury both oppose how the SRC works, accusing it of changing salaries without consulting them.
The CRA defended itself by saying projected collections often fall short of targets, so figures are revised later. Governors say counties cannot keep suffering at the hands of what they call the presumed arbiter.
The row echoes last year's. For 2026/27, the CRA proposed Sh458 billion for counties, the Treasury Sh420 billion and the Senate Sh454 billion. After mediation between the two Houses, Parliament settled on Sh428 billion.
That deal also included a clause making the national government absorb any revenue shortfall instead of cutting county allocations.
The figure now goes through the Division of Revenue process in Parliament.
