President Ruto Signs Four Bills into Law, Unlocking Ksh.70.6 Billion in Additional County Funding.

Nairobi.

President William Ruto on Friday assented to four key pieces of legislation at State House, Nairobi, advancing major reforms in public finance management, capital markets regulation, tax administration, and the governance of state-owned enterprises.

The County Governments Additional Allocations Act, 2025 allocates an extra Ksh.70.6 billion to Kenya’s 47 counties for the 2025/2026 financial year. This includes Ksh.9.98 billion from the national government to clear salary arrears for doctors and Community Health Promoters and to complete ongoing County Aggregation and Industrial Parks. A further Ksh.57.7 billion in grants from development partners will support county-level projects and programmes across sectors.

The Capital Markets (Amendment) Act, 2025 modernises the regulatory and licensing framework for capital markets intermediaries by removing shareholding caps on regulated entities, simplifying processes, and enhancing the overall ease of doing business to attract greater domestic and foreign investment.

The Provisional Collection of Taxes and Duties (Repeal) Act, 2025 formally repeals the 1929 law that previously allowed Parliament to impose taxes on a provisional basis. The statute had been rendered obsolete after courts declared it unconstitutional in 2018, affirming that all taxes must be imposed only through fully enacted legislation.

The Government-Owned Enterprises Act, 2025 introduces international best-practice governance standards for state corporations, including open and competitive appointment of independent board members and strengthened accountability and transparency measures across government-owned entities.

The signing of the four Bills concludes a legislative process that began earlier this year and underscores the administration’s priorities of fiscal decentralisation, regulatory modernisation, and improved corporate governance in the public sector.

County leaders welcomed the additional allocations, noting that the funding will ease pressure on health-sector payrolls and accelerate stalled infrastructure initiatives.

All four laws take effect immediately upon publication in the Kenya Gazette.