Sh16.8B for marginalised areas, what will actually change on ground

Kenya has set aside Sh16.8 billion under the Equalisation Fund for the 2025/26 financial year, targeting what the law describes as marginalised areas.

The money is meant to close gaps in basic services like water, roads, health facilities and electricity, but the real question is what this looks like once it leaves Parliament and reaches the ground.

The Equalisation Fund Appropriation Bill has already gone through both Houses of Parliament and is now awaiting presidential assent.

The framework is anchored in the Constitution, which states that the Fund should support the provision of basic services in marginalised areas to the extent necessary to bring the quality of those services to the level generally enjoyed by the rest of the nation.

According to the Bill, the total allocation is made up of two financial cycles. Sh6.2 billion is drawn from the 2024/25 financial year, while Sh10.6 billion comes from the 2025/26 financial year.

This includes statutory contributions based on audited national revenue and arrears carried forward from previous years.

Out of the total, Sh16.296 billion is earmarked directly for development projects across 34 counties classified as marginalised by the Commission on Revenue Allocation.

The remaining Sh504 million is allocated to the Equalisation Fund Secretariat and Board, capped at not more than three per cent of the total fund as required by law.

On paper, the scale is significant. In practice, the impact depends on how effectively the money translates into visible projects in remote communities.

The term 'marginalised' is defined through a list of counties and constituencies identified as lagging behind in access to basic services.

These are areas where residents are still struggling with long distances to health centres, poor road networks, unreliable water supply and limited access to electricity.

The Bill states that funds will be used for 'the provision of basic services, including water, roads, health facilities, and electricity.'

These are not new promises. They are long-standing gaps the Fund was created to address under Article 204 of the Constitution.

But the reality varies widely across counties. In some regions, a 'road project' may mean grading and murraming a short rural stretch that becomes impassable again during heavy rains.

In others, it could involve upgrading a health dispensary that still lacks staff and equipment even after construction.

The Sh16.296 billion allocation is distributed across the 34 counties, with specific projects listed in the Schedule of the Bill.

While the Bill does not always spell out highly detailed project-level breakdowns in public summaries, the intention is clear: each county receives funding tied to identifiable constituencies and basic service gaps.

Typical interventions include:

• Small-scale water projects such as boreholes and piped extensions

• Rural road upgrades connecting villages to trading centres

• Construction or expansion of dispensaries and health centres

• Rural electrification in off-grid communities

The challenge has always been implementation.

In past cycles, delays in procurement, overlapping mandates with county governments and slow project completion have reduced the speed at which communities feel the impact.

One of the most important features of the Bill is how the money is handled after approval. The funds are not deposited into the County Revenue Fund.

Instead, they are transferred into special purpose accounts held at the Central Bank of Kenya by beneficiary counties.

This structure is designed to ensure the money is used strictly for its intended purpose.

It prevents diversion into general county spending, but it also reduces flexibility for counties to adjust priorities based on emerging local needs.

The Bill states that the money shall not be paid into the County Revenue Fund pursuant to Article 207(1) of the Constitution, effectively separating it from ordinary county budgets.

While Sh16.8 billion sounds substantial, the real measure will not be in parliamentary records but in whether communities see functioning water points, usable roads, staffed clinics and stable electricity connections.

For residents in marginalised counties, the Fund is not a policy debate. It is a promise that has been repeated for years.

The gap between allocation and delivery remains the key question, and this budget cycle will once again test whether the Equalisation Fund is closing inequality or simply documenting it.