Turkana presses CRA to count refugee-hosting burden in revenue share
Key points
- Turkana Deputy Governor Dr John Erus wants CRA to include refugee-hosting status in county revenue sharing.
- Argues Turkana and Garissa face funding shortfalls delivering devolved services while hosting large refugee populations.
- Seeks direct funding to coordinate humanitarian actors, open commercial opportunities and strengthen social protection.
- Criticised Shirika Plan for insufficient county authority; hosted UN Women country rep on partnership talks.
Refugee camps sit on county land, but the revenue formula often pretends they do not. Turkana Deputy Governor Dr John Erus has asked the Commission on Revenue Allocation to treat refugee-hosting as a formal factor in how national money is shared, KBC reported.
Erus said Turkana and Garissa — Kenya’s two main refugee-hosting counties — still face shortfalls delivering devolved services. Direct funding tied to hosting status, he argued, would improve coordination among state and non-state humanitarian actors, build a socio-economic pillar for commerce, and reinforce social protection for both refugees and hosts. He made the case while hosting UN Women Country Representative Antonia N’gabala Sodonon, praising investments such as a modern garage in Kalobeyei. He also criticised the Shirika Plan for failing, in its current form, to give counties the authority over service delivery that devolution requires. UN Women said it would keep supporting women refugees and host communities to unlock economic potential.
Formula fights are budget fights
Without a CRA line for hosting costs, counties subsidise international obligations from local clinics and water points. Nairobi and donors cannot keep exporting the bill to Turkana’s equitable share alone.
Kenya-news desk: Kenya News. Verified CRA ask, Shirika critique and UN Women visit from KBC.
CRA should publish a working paper on refugee-host weightings before the next formula cycle. Parliament’s finance committee should hear Turkana and Garissa jointly.
Until then, every new camp arrival will feel like a silent cut to host-community services.
Garissa leaders should table the same CRA ask in one joint memorandum so the two host counties are not played off against each other in 2026 formula talks.
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Based on KBC reporting of the deputy governor’s appeal. CRA formula changes require formal process.
