Governors from Mount Kenya region have revived the push for the one-man, one-vote campaign, as the Commission on Revenue Allocation begins collecting feedback on the fourth revenue sharing formula.
Speaking at a roundtable meeting with CRA commissioners in Nairobi, the governors insisted on a formula that reflects the region's production prowess, claiming that the three previous formulas were primarily designed to deprive the region.
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga urged the CRA to allocate resources based on a region's contribution to the national cake rather than equal treatment at the table.
“We are 47 counties and it is pointless to start speaking about sharing when any of those counties is not working. Let us review what is the basic share for every county to be operational regardless of whether Lamu has 110,000 people, Nyeri has 1 million people and Kiambu has 3 million,” he said.
“I have been a governor for two terms and the minimum you need for a county to be operational is Ksh.7 billion.”
Consequently, the chairman of the Central Region Economic Bloc (CEREB) has urged for the adoption of a baseline shareable revenue amount that would largely go into the operations of a county before any other parameter is used.
“Devolution is here to stay and I would urge you not to continue giving counties which have already developed more money...instead let us uplift those which are crippled,” said Tharaka Nithi Deputy Governor Nyaga Muisraeli.