County governments have suffered a significant setback following Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi’s announcement that only KSh 405 billion will be allocated to them in the 2025/2026 financial year.Despite this representing an increase of 17.6 Billion from the financial year 2024/2025 it still falls short of the amount the county governors have been aggressively pushing for.
CS Mbadi arrived in the National Assembly for the afternoon tabling of this year’s budget amid chaos within Nairobi CBD led majorly by youths who opposed the KSh 4.2 trillion national budget.
Despite Mbadi’s proposed allocation falling short of county government demands, the CS reaffirmed the national government’s commitment to devolution but noted that the proposed allocation was based on realistic revenue projections and fiscal sustainability concerns
Mbadi however revealed that county governments will receive an additional 69.8 Billion to boost water sanitation among other critical sectors.
“In order to to ensure food and nutrition security, infrastructure development , improved water and sanitation systems among others, county government will received an additional 69.8 Billion shillings as additional allocation,” noted Mbadi.
The budget now awaits approval at committee stages while county governors are expected to to intensify their lobbying efforts through parliament with hopes of having their demands incorporated before approval.
