The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) was established in accordance with Article 215 of the Constitution of Kenya. Article 216 (4) of the Constitution requires the Commission to determine, publish and regularly review a policy in which it sets out the criteria by which to identify marginalized areas for purposes of the allocation and use of the Equalisation Fund.

This Policy sets out the criteria for identifying marginalised areas in Kenya. It identifies the marginalised counties and also provides a framework that will guide in the planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation in the use of the Equalisation Fund. 

In setting out the criteria for identifying marginalized areas, the Commission identified reasons for marginalisation, which include:

1. Legislated discrimination;
2. Geographical location;
3. Culture and lifestyles;
4. External domination;
5. Land legislation and administration;
6. Minority recognition groups;
7. Ineffectual political participation; and
8. Inequitable government policies.

The Commission further highlights the consequences and impacts of marginalisation. These include high levels of absolute and relative poverty, food insecurity, poor infrastructure, poor state of basic social services and poor governance. 

The primary criterion chosen for identifying marginalized counties in this policy is the County Development Index (CDI), which is a composite index constructed from indicators measuring the state of health, education, infrastructure and poverty in a county. The CDI is complemented by two other approaches, namely: expert analysis on historical and legislative discrimination and results of the Commission?s county marginalisation survey.

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