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Wajir South MP Mohammed Adow criticises 'One man, one vote, one shilling' revenue formula

A file picture of Wajir South MP Mohammed Adow.

By Mohammed Adow | Monday, May 27, 2024

The lawmaker shared his views via social media platform X, amid criticism from various parties, including Northern Frontier leaders, who deem the formula discriminatory.

Wajir South MP Mohammed Adow has criticised the "one man, one vote, one shilling" revenue-sharing formula touted by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, noting the need for a thorough re-evaluation of population statistics where the national budget is concerned.

The lawmaker shared his views via social media platform X, amid criticism from various parties, including Northern Frontier leaders, who deem the formula discriminatory.

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Adow's message (unedited) was as follows:

One man, one vote, one shilling? Cool! Let's break down the stats.

First, let's revisit the last census and reveal the true population from the servers based on the iPads used by the field clerks. Forget about the manufactured figures that suppress the numbers for some and inflate for others (you know the deal with birth rates - now extrapolate).

Second, take the budget for 2024/5 which is Ksh 4.2 Tr and divide by the total, legitimate population - use the entire 4.2 Tr ( not just 15% or about 600B for the counties). Don't disburse just yet - there's debt to be repaid and offsetting to be done

Third, take the debt stock, currently at about 10.5 Tr or 70% of the GDP (15 Tr), and trace the beneficiaries of that debt - what projects occasioned the debt and where were those projects/programmes implemented?

Fourth, gradually deduct the debt from the allocations of regions who benefited from skewed budgets since 1963. Why should others share the burden when value didn't accrue to them? As you check the time series data on debt accumulation, pay attention to the twin 'humps' in national gov't budgetary allocations to some regions during the periods 1963–1978 and 2013–2022. Hint: mega dams, subsidies for coffee/tea and other crops (minimal support to livestock), 're-structuring'' the financial services sector, dizzying road networks, including the 30B Mau Mau Rd, game parks, numerous public universities, special economic zones, manufacturing parks, power generation, modern markets, etc.

Fifth, now disburse the budget to the country, apportioning the debt burden to the few entitled ones who enjoyed the benefits in the first place. But wait before you disburse! Ensure equalisation funds revert back to the few genuinely poor counties who the constitution envisaged will be supported to reverse the enduring impact of sessional paper No 10 of 1965 - not the bloated number of rich counties that are home to billionaires and are yet being given equalization funds.

Sixth and final, we reiterate that we co-own this space called Kenya, given by God. While practising patience and constancy, we still don't hesitate to hurl the truth against falsehood whenever it manifests itself. As for the perennial brouhaha in the marketplaces, we say PEACE and keep moving on.