Raila wades into county cash fray, warns of plan to 'kill devolution'

Azimio leader Raila Odinga Friday roared back into local politics with a scathing attack on lawmakers and government functionaries whom he accused of working to kill devolution.

Raila, who was supposed to have taken a sabbatical from domestic politics to pursue continental glory as the African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson, fronted by the government, charged that devolution is under attack.

He claimed there were attempts to resurrect the provincial administration to replace county governments.

Raila, addressing the Press at his Capitol Hill office, six days after the launch of his AUC chairmanship campaign in Addis Ababa, said the ongoing stalemate between the National Assembly and the Senate over the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill was ‘‘about a power grab.’’

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‘‘They think governors are an unnecessary burden. There are attempts to resurrect the provincial administration, which, under the Constitution, was supposed to be replaced by county governments,” said Raila.

The former Prime Minister added, “Devolution is under threat, and those of us who fought for it must stand up and be counted to defend it.”

His criticism echoed a scathing attack by the Catholic Church, which on Friday termed elected leaders as “irresponsible and insensitive in carrying out their tasks by allowing themselves to be captured and compromised in corrupt deals.”

“Corruption may not always involve financial benefits but the unjust use of positions and authority or abuse of office. The massive greed we are witnessing is shocking and heartbreaking,” read part of the bishops’ statement.

According to Raila, it was unconstitutional for MPs to demand control of the Sh105 billion Road Maintenance Levy Fund, one of the key issues that has led to the deadlock in talks to resolve the stalemate over the equitable revenue share for devolved units.

He explained that MPs’ thirst to continue controlling the fund followed their ‘successful anomaly’ in gaining control over the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF) and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), which, he argued, gives them the power to conceive, implement, and oversee projects at the same time — against the spirit of the Constitution.

“The MPs are supposed to legislate and oversee the government, but they are now involved in the execution of projects at the constituency level.

‘‘Very little work is being done in the National Assembly, which is often empty as there are no debates taking place in parliament,” he said.

He continued, “We have a situation where MPs themselves are the contractors. I know examples where the President goes to launch a road, but the contractor is an MP—this is a conflict of interest and very embarrassing.”

He maintained that the execution or implementation of programmes should never be the job of an MP.

While terming the standoff between the Senate and the National Assembly as “extremely worrying and unnecessary,” Raila castigated MPs for pushing the proposed amendment to the Division of Revenue Act, which would see counties lose Sh20 billion.

He said this move was not only illegal and unconstitutional but set “an extremely dangerous precedent which, if allowed to stand, will lead to the slow but steady strangulation and eventual death of counties.”

“The result of this unhelpful and unnecessary deadlock is that the operations of the already strained devolved units are moving towards a standstill, with critical services in jeopardy,” Raila said.

‘‘Now, because MPs want to have their way with the abrogation of the Constitution and get their pound of flesh with regard to NGCDF, the Senate and National Assembly are unable to agree on something the law is very clear about—the sharing of revenue between the national government and the county governments,” he added.

Raila maintained that, according to the Constitution, the revenue allocation to counties can only increase and never decrease, unless the intention is to kill devolution.

He noted that the Senate had initially requested Sh416 billion for counties for the 2024-2025 financial year but had settled on Sh400 billion, as stipulated in the Division of Revenue Act for 2024.

“The law is clear that counties must get at least 15 per cent of the national revenue, and Sh400 billion is 15 per cent of the national revenue.

‘‘Every five years, this country holds elections for all positions—from president, governors, and MPs, to members of county assemblies.

‘‘People know the roles and responsibilities assigned to the positions they choose to run for, and nobody should attempt to change those roles midway,” Raila said.

He decried how certain functions such as health, agriculture, and parts of infrastructure were not working properly because resources were not being effectively allocated to the counties.