Treasury proposal seeks to cap counties’ revenue
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich during a press briefing on the State of the country's economy at Intercontinental Hotel on November 9, 2017. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Counties could have their revenue collection targets capped by law if a proposal by the National Treasury is adopted.
Treasury says that revenue estimates will be based on the respective county’s historical performance.
“The objective is to ensure that revenue estimates that exceed what is deemed realistic will need more stringent justification, so as to minimise the risk of budget deficits that has been experienced over the last four years,” the Treasury says in the 2018 Draft Budget Policy Statement.
The proposal will be subjected to public participation by close of business today before it is submitted to the Cabinet and Parliament for approval.
Statistics by the Controller of
Budget show that between financial year 2014/15 and 2016/17, the counties revenue collection deteriorated.
A significant drop in actual collection was registered in the financial year 2016/17.
During this period, the Controller of Budget, Ms Agnes Odhiambo, in a report on county spending said only Sh32.52 billion of the annual target of Sh57.66 billion was collected.
Treasury has also drafted a national policy and a legal framework to support enhancement of counties revenue collection.
