Governors Give CS Mbadi 14 Days or Face Nationwide Shutdown
Governors across Kenya have issued a stark 14-day ultimatum to Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, threatening a complete shutdown of county operations. This drastic move stems from a deepening dispute over delayed and reduced budget allocations.
Former Council of Governors (CoG) Chair, Anne Waiguru, delivered the ultimatum, highlighting the severe impact of the funding delays. “We, as governors, issue a 14-day ultimatum to the government, failure to which county governments will shut down,” she declared, emphasizing the urgency of the situation.
The core of the issue lies in the delayed release of critical funds from the Treasury, a situation governors blame directly on CS Mbadi. This delay, they argue, has brought vital development projects to a standstill.
Waiguru painted a grim picture of the consequences: “We have stalled projects for water, roads, and healthcare. Unless we truly do not care about what is happening in this country—especially since public complaints have consistently been about service delivery and stalled projects—we need to get serious.”
Adding fuel to the fire, governors are protesting Ksh25 billion in budget cuts, demanding immediate clarification and reversal from the Treasury. These cuts, they claim, will cripple donor-funded initiatives.
Key grants affected include the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) grant, the Food Systems Resilience Program (FSRP) grant, the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP) allocation, and the Water and Sanitation Development Project (WSDP) grant.
Led by CoG Chair and Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, the governors are also locked in a dispute over the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) with Members of Parliament. They insist that counties should have access to the RMLF, arguing that road construction falls under their jurisdiction, and that the fuel levy should be equitably shared.
Abdullahi noted that the agreed exclusion of RMLF from the cuts, due to ongoing court cases, has been ignored. The governors are now demanding the Senate’s intervention to reject the budget cuts and push for revisions.
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Governors Give CS Mbadi 14 Days or Face Nationwide Shutdown
