Thirty-four county governments have signed intergovernmental partnership agreements (IPAs) with the Ministry of Education (MoE), allowing them to continue supporting bursary and scholarship programmes, the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) has disclosed.
The revelation came during a meeting with the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Regional Development, where lawmakers raised concerns over the legality, funding mechanisms, and constitutional basis of the arrangements.
Appearing before the committee, IGRTC Chairperson Kithinji Kiragu, Director of Legal Services Sophie Amutavi, and Deputy Director of Legal Services Joy Bigambo briefed legislators on the implementation of the agreements.
The agreements were introduced following a January 2025 directive from the Office of the Controller of Budget requiring county governments to formalise education support programmes through structured intergovernmental frameworks.
According to IGRTC, agreements have been prepared for 36 counties, with 34 already signed and operational. The committee was informed that the Controller of Budget has received funding requisitions from 31 counties and approved disbursements for 30 of them.
IGRTC further noted that the 12th Intergovernmental Summit directed the committee to conclude all pending agreements within two weeks.
Among the counties that have already signed the agreements are Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Mandera, Kwale and Kilifi County.
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IGRTC clarified that references in earlier drafts to the “limited transfer” of functions had been removed. The committee maintained that the agreements are anchored on Article 189 of the Constitution, which promotes cooperation between the national and county governments, rather than Article 187, which deals with the transfer of functions.
However, members of Parliament questioned whether the agreements were legally sound and whether county governments should be allowed to spend public funds on functions not expressly assigned to them under the Constitution.
Committee Chairperson Peter Lokachapong challenged IGRTC to clearly define the nature of education support, arguing that bursaries and scholarships have traditionally been treated as social protection interventions rather than devolved functions.
“Counties were allocated funds for devolved functions, and education support for secondary schools and universities is not among them. Are we therefore legitimising the use of county resources for functions that are not constitutionally assigned to counties?” he posed.
Lokachapong also questioned whether the lack of a specific legal framework governing the agreements could render them unconstitutional, noting that IGRTC’s legal advisers had acknowledged the absence of an explicit enabling law.
Emurua Dikirr MP David Kipsang Keter called for measures to ensure all counties participate in the programme, warning that thousands of needy learners could miss out on bursary support if some county governments decline to sign the agreements.
Other legislators sought clarification on the voluntary nature of the arrangements and the discrepancies in the number of participating counties.
Matungu MP Oscar Nabulindo cautioned against efforts to circumvent constitutional safeguards, arguing that the Controller of Budget had already classified education support as a national government function.
“The Controller of Budget is a constitutional office mandated to guide public expenditure. If that office has pronounced itself on this matter, are we right to use agreements to create an alternative interpretation?” he asked.
Banisa MP Hassan Adan Ali highlighted the practical challenges facing counties such as Mandera, which has invested heavily in bursary programmes over the years.
He revealed that Mandera spends approximately KSh370 million annually on bursaries, resources that could otherwise be allocated to development projects such as water, roads and infrastructure.
“While the programme has benefited many families, the question remains whether there is a sustainable and lawful funding model under these agreements,” he said.
Kiragu acknowledged the existence of policy and legal gaps, particularly the absence of a comprehensive framework to operationalise Article 189 of the Constitution.
He informed the committee that a Legal Sector Working Group comprising Parliament, the Office of the Attorney General, the National Treasury, the Controller of Budget and the Kenya Law Reform Commission had been established to develop a more structured framework for intergovernmental cooperation.
Kiragu maintained that although there is no legislation specifically dedicated to Article 189 agreements, both the Constitution and the Intergovernmental Relations Act provide sufficient legal grounding for cooperation between the national and county governments.
By Obegi Malack
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